Matthew 7:13
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Matthew 7:14
Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Matthew 7:15
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”
There is always a crowd that you can follow, and they are wrong most of the time.
Robert Fulton was laughed at because of his steam boat. The crowd was wrong.
Charles Goodyear was called crazy because he said you can make strong rubber by vulcanizing. The crowd was wrong. Today the name Goodyear means rubber.
It was a man named Westinghouse that proposed stopping trains with air and the crowd said you are nuts. Today it is common to hear air breaks on trains and many other vehicles.
The easiest thing for man to do is to follow the crowd.
To agree with the prevalent ideas of the crowd of the times and to do what everyone else is doing is the easy way.
However this is dangerous because the crowd is most always wrong.
The crowd is going the wrong way and the wrong way ends in Hell.
Proverbs 14:12
“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death.”
At some point in your life you must become an individual and think for yourself.
When I was a young man they would say, “When are you going to grow up?”
They were saying, “When are you going to start being a responsible man and make good choices?”
Someday you will need to think about your decisions and make choices that are right instead of just what everybody else is doing.
• The road to destruction is crowded.
Matthew 7:13
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
We have a good illustration for us in the Bible.
Numbers 21:4
“And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.
Discouragement comes to an individual who has taken his eyes off the Lord…One who has forgotten what the Lord has done for them in the past.
Israel has forgotten who it is that brought them out of bondage in Egypt.
They have forgotten who it is that has taken good care of them up to this point.
It is normal for a person to get discouraged because of the way.
Life is hard and life will not always be good to you.
But lest we forget life is made up of choices and we are the ones who made the choice.
Numbers 21:5
And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for [there is] no bread, neither [is there any] water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.
Speaking against God is one of the most foolish things an individual can do.
There has never been a person that has cared for you more than God.
It was God who became a man in order to be tempted in all points like as we are yet without sin and then go to the cross in our place and pay our sin debt.
Israel said, “Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?”
If God wanted you dead He could have just left you in Egypt.
You might be guilty of saying, “Wherefore have ye put me in prison to rot?”
The Bible says:
Titus 2:11
“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,”
1st Timothy 2:4
“Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”
2nd Peter 3:9
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
Luke 19:10
“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:17
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
A better question would be, “Lord what wilt thou have me to do?” or “What must I do to be saved?”
Numbers 21:6
And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
God is not willing that any should perish and God will go to extremes to save your soul.
This passage of scripture is not only a picture of salvation by grace through faith it is a picture of God’s desire to turn you to trust Him.
It sounds like God is mean and vicious and hurtful because He sent fiery serpents to bite and kill the people who were murmuring against Him.
First of all let me say that God has the right to do anything He wants to do and whatever He does will be right.
But if you will read this passage of scripture you will find that the end result was if you will just trust God He will take good care of you.
Here is a verse that we cannot understand:
Exodus 34:14
“For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name [is] Jealous, [is] a jealous God:”
God believes that since He is the eternal, all-powerful, all-wise God that created all things then all things should do what He says.
Numbers 21:7
Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
When you get a good look at yourself and you realize what you are you will say, “I have sinned.”
You are on your way to solving your problems and turning your life around when you say “I have sinned.”
All sin is against God.
Psalms 51:3
“For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin [is] ever before me.
Psalms 51:4
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done [this] evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, [and] be clear when thou judgest.
Psalms 51:5
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
Psalms 58:3
“The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.”
The crowd you run with is not your problem.
You are your problem.
And when you take responsibility for yourself it will begin with “I have sinned.”
When you turn to God and accept the responsibility that you are the sinner then God will gladly point you to the Saviour.
The crowd is not your problem…YOU ARE YOUR PROBLEM.
Numbers 21:8
And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
In every case where a sinner takes the responsibility of admitting what he is and turns to God for help he receives help.
The mercy of God will show up every time.
Notice that God provided a way for them to be healed but he did not keep them from being bitten by the fiery serpents.
Why didn’t God just take away the fiery serpents?
If God takes away the fiery serpents you no loner need God.
The Bible says:
1st Thessalonians 5:18
“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
In every fiery trial give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
In prison give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
You and I need the fiery serpents to remind us that we need God.
I want you notice what the Lord Jesus said in John chapter 3 as compared to Numbers 21:8.
Numbers 21:8
And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
John 3:14
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:”
Do you want to be healed of your sin problem…Look to Jesus!
The Lord Jesus Christ was lifted up that He might draw all men unto Him.
John 12:32
“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto me.”
That verse does not say that He will save all men it says He will draw all men.
Today he is drawing you and you will have to make a decision.
You can either choose to look to Christ and be saved or you can die from the bite of the fiery serpent.
It is a choice and if you choose Christ you will no longer be running with the crowd.
Numbers 21:9
And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.”
You cannot save yourself from the fiery serpent you will die lost and go to Hell if you do not turn to Christ.
Romans 4:4
“Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
Romans 4:5
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
Ephesians 2:8
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:
Ephesians 2:9
Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
It is dangerous to follow the crowd
Numbers 21:6
“And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.”
In this passage of scripture we are looking at physical death but the lesson of spiritual death and life through faith are also taught.
It is still dangerous today to follow the crowd.
The road to destruction is still wide and broad.
Matthew 7:13
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
TODAY THE road to destruction has been paved by the popular media.
TV dictates how we dress, what we eat, and worst of all, what we call right and what we call wrong.
The media makes the road to destruction very comfortable and smooth.
It is the easiest route to travel. However, it is going in the wrong direction.
It is leading us into immorality and Godlessness.
It is leading in the direction of an eternal Hell.
There is now a generation of Americans who could not care less about what God’s word teaches.
Because of the powerful effect of popular media it is easier today to follow the deceived crowd than ever before.
The path to destruction is so wide that the road to life has become harder to see.
Matthew 7:13
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Matthew 7:14
Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
In our modern world the constant insane noise of our culture seems to drown out the still small voice of God.
• The road to destruction is crowded.
• The road to destruction is crazy.
Crazy means insane
The crowd is always wrong
Conformity is the on-ramp
By saying crazy I mean it is not sensible it is not logical it doesn’t make sense.
Every day you can read in a newspaper or watch on TV the disastrous results of a life of sin.
In our own community we see people who have destroyed themselves through sinful behavior.
Among these you will not find one who in-tended to destroy their own life.
It has been said “SIN WILL TAKE YOU WHERE YOU DID NOT WANT TO GO, SIN WILL KEEP YOU LONGER THAN YOU WANTED TO STAY, AND SIN WILL COST YOU MORE THAN YOU WANTED TO PAY.
So how do people get into these life destroying situations?
They just follow the crowd and make the same wrong decisions as everyone else.
Are you a crowd follower?
Don’t you think it is time to turn from the crowd and get saved?
If you claim to be saved you should check what you call salvation with what the Bible teaches.
Yes, you can still make wrong choices after you are saved but is there a desire to make right choices?
If you liked iced tea the day before you got saved you will like iced tea the day after you get saved.
If you liked fornication the day before you got saved you will like fornication the day after you get saved.
The difference is you will know that fornication is wrong and you will desire to NOT do it.
Matthew 7:13-14
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: (14) Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”