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.

Matthew 8:19-22 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Matthew 10:34-39 Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law – a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’

Matthew 16:24-26 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

Can we all just give a collective “Oof.”

These are tough. Definitely THAT Jesus verses. These challenge us to the core.

Question:
What are you really expecting out of Jesus?

In 2022, Ligonier Ministries polled over 3000 American adults.
- More than half of Americans (53%) say Jesus was a great teacher but not God. More than 2 in 5 evangelicals (44%) agree.
- 67% believe God accepts worship of Christians, Jews, and Muslims.
- 52% believe that God learns and adapts to our circumstances.
- 55% believe Jesus was a created being.
- 66% of people believe that everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature.
- 69% disagree that even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation.
- 70% believe everyone is born innocent in the eyes of God.
- 59% believe religious belief is a matter of personal opinion; it is not about objective truth.

What does this tell us?
It tells us that most Americans have faith that is very “me” focused and Jesus exists to cater to their lives, not the other way around.

Ironically, 62% believe the Bible is the highest authority for what they believe. Does the Bible teach the results of the survey? Is Christianity about you and what you want? What are we really expecting out of Jesus?

I want you to be encouraged and built up, developed and discipled. However, if you are going to become who Jesus created you to be, it cannot happen if we are still latched on to incorrect ideologies when it comes to how we see Jesus or what we expect he is supposed to be and act..

I’ve mentioned how you see Jesus will determine how you obey Jesus. If Jesus is just a big bundle of love and rainbows who accepts you no matter what and jumps to attention at your every whim, then you are going to be in a relationship with a Jesus that doesn’t exist.

How can I say I love you and let you continue living a lie? It is a lie at the worst and an incomplete Gospel at the best.

You are going to have to come to terms with the Jesus that challenges you, not just the Jesus that loves you. We talk about people with the 5: know you, know God, love you, love God, have your best interest in mind.

We know Jesus loves us and knows us, but do you think Jesus has your best interest in mind? If you do, then everything he says and does is with you becoming your best as the focus. If you don’t, then you’ll never trust anything he says and does.

I am going to force you into a decision right now in this moment. You may not like that language, but you have to decide.

Either you trust him or you don’t. If you don’t, then you need to go read the Gospel of John. Specifically chapter 3. Encounter his love.

If you do trust him, then you have to learn how to embrace THAT Jesus and his challenges.

Let’s practice that today with 5 hard teachings from Jesus.

1. The Rich Young Man
Mark 10:17-22
17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

This guy did all the things you were supposed to do, and because of that, he should have been a prime candidate for heaven, right? Maybe you are doing the right things. You go to church, you pray, you read the Word. On paper your life seems precisely where it should be. But the issue with the young man was not in his actions, but where his heart was.

When is the last time you checked your motives?
I’ve said before, “The right thing at the wrong time is still the wrong thing.” In the same vein, “Right actions with the wrong motive is still the wrong thing.”

Matthew 15:8-9
8 These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.

Can you fully embrace the Kingdom with skewed motives? What does a skewed motive look like?
“I go to church because my life is messed up, but once I get on my feet again, I’m done.”
“I just want my kids to go to Sunday School.”
“I need to make the right connections.”
“I’m supposed to.”

When you are operating in the wrong motives, it makes hard teachings impossible to embrace, and the result is the same result as the young ruler: you leave upset.

I cannot be who God made me to be if I don’t have people in my life willing to challenge me at a heart level. Yes men lead me to apathy, but a challenge forces me to grow.

Jesus wasn’t being mean to this man by telling him to sell everything. He was challenging the very core of his being because Jesus knew there was more in this man than his money.

There is more in you than what you think defines you, but you’ll never access it unless you are willing to embrace THAT Jesus.

2. The Talents
Matthew 25:14-30
14 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. 15 He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip. 16 “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. 17 The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. 18 But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money. 19 “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. 20 The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’ 21 “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ 22 “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’
23 “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ 24 “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’ 26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, 27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’ 28 “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Goodness…what do we do with this one?

Question: How well are you managing his investment in you?

If you gave me $10,000 and I went and spent it on Monster drinks and Pez dispensers, how would you feel about that? Would it be a waste?

If God put a gift in you and you either don’t use it, or blow it on something else, does God feel the same?

Ok first, do you have any gifts from God?

1 Peter 4:10
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace

James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Now that it is clear that God made a deposit in your life, what are you doing with it? One servant took 10 bags and made 10 more. One servant took 5 bags and made 5 more. Side note: don’t compare your 5 to their 10. You just work on your 5 and don’t worry about their 10. If you want 10, then ask God to broaden your capacity, but then be careful, because expansion means challenging your borders.

If you are managing God’s deposit in you well, then “Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!”

If you aren’t managing God’s deposit in you well, why not?
There are no sidelines in Christianity. You are either on the field or off of it. What is keeping you off the field and into poor management of the deposit?

I know this seems harsh, but let me encourage you: If you feel like you cannot manage that deposit well but you are trying, the Holy Spirit is more than that voice that says, “Don’t do that.” He is your HELPER - paraclete - and if you’ll submit and surrender, you’ll start managing like he knows you can.

3. The Narrow Gate
Matthew 7:13-14
13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

What does the wide road look like?
Consumer Christianity
Selfish Christianity
Compromised Christianity

Consumer
This is where we think everything in the church should be focused on us and what we like. We expect ministries - and yes even Jesus - to give us what we want when we want it. We come to consume and that’s it. We don’t give. We don’t take part through serving or helps. We are here to get a spiritual meal that we think will last the week. When we are like this, all we care about is Jesus’ hands, not his heart. This is a focus on you being happy and nothing else.

1 John 2:16
16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.

Selfish
This is beyond consuming to the point where we are chiefly concerned with our own profit or pleasure and lack consideration for others. Interestingly enough, Jesus tells us in Matthew 20:16
So the last shall be first and the first shall be last.

We see this predominantly in worship music where it is very “me” focused and not so much focus is on worshipping God himself.

Compromised
This is where we are walking in so much grace that we’ve ignored the truth. This is what Romans 1 is talking about when we’ve either convinced ourselves that God is cool with our sin, or we’ve engaged in sin so much that we’ve become numb to it. Anyone who challenges a compromised Christian with the truth is accused of being legalistic and a hater.

2 Timothy 4:3-4
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

Why am I taking time on this?
Because the narrow gate require we do things that are in direct violation of consumeristic, selfish, compromised Christianity.
You have to lose your life to find it.
You have to die to your desires and passions.
You have to crucify the flesh on the cross of Christ.
You have to relinquish your rights to justice and getting even.

The world doesn’t do these thing.
The world even calls you names if you do these things.
Harrison Butker - X image

However, the world is following the wide path that leads to destruction.

So what does it take for me to enter the narrow gate?
What is required? What must I give? EVERYTHING.

We have a very bad understanding of sacrifice. It is interesting that the Hebrew word for sacrifice, corban, means “to draw near.”

So what is biblical sacrifice?
Anything given so that you can draw near to God.

So what must I do to enter the narrow gate?
Give anything to God that is keeping you from drawing near to him.

4. The Cost of Discipleship
Brace yourselves for this one: Luke 14:26-33
26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

This one is really hard to palate, but you have to appreciate Jesus’ extreme honesty. No one sells something with the hardest parts. You sell with the good. The car dealer tells you all the great stuff about the car, but tries to withhold the consumer reports.

Jesus is not holding back. He’s telling you exactly what it is going to cost you to follow him.

But what is all of this about hating mothers and fathers and such?
How is that Jesus!?!?!

Let’s put it into perspective here:
You get married. Things are great, BUT, you find that your wife clings to her mom and dad super hard, to the point where her mom and dad are CLEARLY more important than you. She blocks your call if she’s on with them. She engages with them more than she does with you. She cancels your pans together often to accommodate her parents. She puts you on the back burner every chance she gets. How would that make you feel? Would you question her commitment to you?

When you said yes to Jesus, were you just enamored with his love, or did you imagine at some point you would have to forgive the person who hurt you the most? Did you think you wouldn’t have to get out of that abusive immoral relationship? Did you think he would be cool with your porn addiction? Did you assume that you could keep on living how you were living before you met him?

You clearly didn’t count the cost.

The only time we experience brokenness in our relationship with Jesus is when we refuse to lay down what he’s told us to.

Example:
Have you ever felt not good enough? Have you ever been concerned that what you have to bring to the table wasn’t enough? Where does a feeling like that live? In our Spirit or our flesh? Our flesh! But that is the very thing Jesus told us to crucify!

We get wrapped up in what Jesus is willing to do for us, but here’s a question for us all:
What are you willing to lose?
What are you willing to sacrifice so you can draw near to him?
What are you willing to change, to give, to let go of so you can go all in with him?

We spend too much time trying to keep alive what Jesus has told us to kill. At some point we are going to have to count the cost, and then have the courage to pay it.

If you are concerned with what you get if you give it all, the answer is that you get all of him, but if all of him isn’t enough, then you have a bigger problem than what you are willing to give. It means you haven’t really met him yet.

5. The Good Shepherd
John 10:14-15
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

You might think, how is this a hard teaching? It’s because it requires us to let Jesus be more than a preacher.

Jesus has to be more than a preacher or else there will be no change in us.
Some quotes:
- Avoid evil deeds as a man who loves life avoids poison.
- You only lose what you cling to.
- Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.
A couple more:
- The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself
- Prayer is not asking. It is a daily admission of one's weakness.

The first three quotes, not Jesus. That was Buddha. The last two, not Jesus either. Gandhi.

What is my point? Anyone can teach you good maxims, but only Jesus can shepherd your heart.

The problem is most people want a preacher, not a pastor.
A preacher just gives you info. Anyone can preach. A pastor shepherds your soul, challenges you, loves you, pulls greatness out of you.

Are you willing to be pastored by Jesus knowing that it means that he is going to challenge you to the point where you are forced to change? There is no try. Only do. That wasn’t Jesus either. Yoda.

I don’t mean to beat a dead horse here but Matthew 16:24
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

I fully realize that it can be difficult, sometimes to look at our lives, and discover an area where we need to deny ourselves, pick up our cross, follow Jesus. There are several areas in all of our lives where this would apply, but what’s one area where you could do this and see the biggest positive change in your life? That’s the area you need to focus on, but be prepared that this area will also be a place where you are going to be required to ask for help.

The rich, young man – where is your heart
The talents – what are you doing with God’s investment?
The narrow gate – which path are you on?
The cost of discipleship – have you counted the costs and are you willing to pay them?
The good shepherd – do you hear his voice, do you recognize his voice? And will you let him pastor you?

Five hard teachings
But it’s not five hard teachings coming from somebody that can’t stand you.
It is five hard teachings coming from somebody who loves you so much that he gave his life for you.

All he’s asking is that we give our lives to him and return.

So you can pick:
Life outside of a relationship where you are in charge, but the way to the world is on your shoulders or, life inside of a relationship with Jesus, where you have to deal with challenges, you have to change, you have to adjust, but you get all of him in return.

So how do we land this today?
I really just have one question for you, one I asked earlier in the message:

What are you willing to lose?

Matthew 16:26
What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?

I am asking you to make a decision right now: will you go all in?
The Holy Spirit will begin to show you things that he wants you to adjust, change, deal with. The Holy Spirit will also show you faces of people he wants you to go to for help.

Jesus was willing to give it all for you. Are you willing to give it all for him?

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?

How does he want you to respond?