Sermon on the Mount | Matthew 7:13-27

Introduction: An Invitation to Flourish

I don't usually think of myself as administratively challenged until it comes to RSVPing to a wedding. If I don't respond to an invite immediately, it gets lost, and I inevitably find myself in the same awkward position again with the next couple.

I wonder how you are at responding to invitations, because we receive them all the time — to birthday parties, weddings, feedback requests, or a child's Thanksgiving service. Over these past weeks we've been exploring an invitation here at Cornerstone: Jesus's invitation to flourish in the most famous sermon in history, the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus has been inviting us to see how life in his kingdom leads to a flourishing life — not an easy life, not a carefree life, but the good life, the blessed life, a life that begins now and finds its fullness in the next. Having heard all this, the question Jesus rounds his sermon off with is simple: will you choose to accept my invitation to flourish, or reject it? There are only two responses to an invitation — yes or no. If you don't respond at all, it's a no until you say otherwise.

In this closing passage, Jesus uses the language of two to show us the choice before us: two gates and two roads, two trees bearing two kinds of fruit, two types of disciple, and two builders building on two different foundations. All of this is designed to bring us to one decision: will we accept or reject Jesus's invitation to flourish?

Choose Life

In 2005, the BBC reported a story where one sheep jumped off a cliff and died in Turkey. It made international news because a further 1,100 sheep followed that first sheep over the edge — around 400 died. The rest survived only because they were cushioned by the bodies of those who'd gone before.

Just because the crowd is doing something doesn't make it a good idea. The majority can be wrong. This is exactly what Jesus teaches in verses 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."

There are only two roads leading to two different destinations. One leads to life, to heaven. The other leads to destruction, to hell. Heavy stuff — which will it be?

Let's be clear, especially if you're new here: Jesus isn't distinguishing between good, moral people who go to church and bad, immoral people who don't. He's making a distinction between two types of bad people:

• Those who say to God, "Shove off. I don't want you in my life. I wear the crown. I choose the path. I'll flourish on my own, thank you very much."
• Those who say to God, "I know I've sinned, fallen short in what I've thought, said, and done, and I need you to forgive me. I want to accept your gracious invitation to join your kingdom, because without you I'll wither."

The difference isn't between good people and bad people — it's between those who rely on self and those who rely on God.

So let me ask: are you walking on the right path? Many aren't. Jesus says the way to destruction is broad and many enter through it. Don't be a sheep who jumps off a cliff because another sheep did. If you've heard Jesus whispering your name these past weeks — even this morning — choose life, and choose it now.

Jesus doesn't promise an easy life. But he promises a way that leads to life, and life to the full, and he will walk with you every step. Christ himself took the narrow path — his road led to the cross, a death that led to the life of many, so that you and I might know the joy of heaven rather than the anguish of hell. And that cross didn't have the last word, because the Father raised his Son to new life.

So choose Christ this morning. Choose life. Choose the narrow path.

Watch Out

Since becoming a parent to a toddler, the number of times I've said "watch out, be careful" has gone through the roof. A good parent offers warnings regularly because they love their child. Love encourages — but love is also willing to warn. Jesus warns us of two dangers here: one out there, external, and one in here, internal.

The External Danger: False Prophets

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them... A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit." (v.15-18)

We know this reality even without the word