Dr. Ed Young - Wise and Foolish Builder

Today we’re going to look at the Kingdom of God. Is that a big enough topic for everybody? We’re going to discover whether you and I are in the Kingdom or whether you and I are not in the Kingdom. People always ask, «How do I know I’m a Christian? How do I know I’m saved? How do I know that I am okay forever, now and throughout eternity?» The bottom line is, are you in the Kingdom or are you out of the Kingdom? Jesus came, and according to Matthew, his first words of utterance were simply, «Repent, for the Kingdom has come.» His whole message from God, as God himself, was a word of, «The Kingdom has come.» The Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven are virtually interchangeable in Scripture. The Kingdom of God is where God the Father rules as King and Lord, and in the Kingdom of God, there is the body of the church. The church is the place where Jesus is Lord; therefore, the Kingdom of God does not grow; the church grows within the Kingdom. As Christians, we are a part of the body of Christ, which is the church, and we’re within the Kingdom of God.

Now, how do you know? How do I know that Jesus came? Early in his ministry, he delivered those immortal truths about the Kingdom in Matthew 5, 6, and 7. I’m sure he repeated it many times. That is the famous well-known Sermon on the Mount. What is that? It’s simply Jesus saying, «If you are in the Kingdom and a Kingdom person, this is how you are then to live.» Have you read it lately? Do you know generally what it says? A lot of people look at Matthew 5, 6, and 7, and they say, quite honestly, «This must be for Heaven. This is the way Heaven operates. Are we supposed to operate like this?» Jesus gives those profound truths: bang, bang, bang-5, 6, 7. When you get through, you say, «Wow! You mean as a Christian, these are the ethics, the formula by which I am to live out my life?» The answer to that is yes; these are Kingdom principles.

Now here’s the catch: You can’t even begin to live the Kingdom of God life unless Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior of your life, and the Holy Spirit is operating in your life and mine, enabling us through discipline, through prayer, and through study to begin to demonstrate someone who is indeed a son or daughter of God. In this Earth, but living now in the Kingdom of God, what do we pray? «Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done.» That’s the Kingdom of God on Earth as it is in Heaven. Then he comes to the end of the sermon in Matthew chapter 7, and he states it very clearly, very plainly, so that everybody then and now can understand Kingdom principles and Kingdom lifestyles. He uses three parables- three little parables. Remember, what a parable is? Because we’re studying the parables. The parable is certainly an earthly story with a heavenly meaning and heavenly ramifications, but it’s much more than that. The word «parable» literally means to lay down beside something. In other words, to put it in our language, in parables, God just throws down on us so we can clearly know whether or not we’re citizens of the Kingdom or not citizens of the Kingdom. You can’t miss it, and he tells it in a very simple way.

Jesus says, «Enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.» Does that ring a bell? «Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.» There we have the two absolutes: We either go in the broad gate-everybody’s going in, and it leads ultimately to destruction, though it looks so appealing on the outside-or we go in the narrow gate that is so narrow, but on the inside it gets broader and broader. Do you get the principle?

Now, why is it that so many of us do not go through the narrow gate? It’s because we look at some people who think they are walking the narrow path, and they’re so prideful; they’re so better, they’re so superior that they’ve sort of got it together. But they’re very difficult to be around. Narrow people are not people we really love to spend a lot of time with, have you noticed that? Because you feel judged, you feel inadequate, and it expresses itself in so many ways. So, narrow people, in many ways, are narrow in how they follow Christ and narrow in their thinking about the world. But in the broad gate, you know a lot of people are going through there, so I thought about this. On the narrow gate, we need to put up a sign that would say, «Sorrow and Death.» Not too appealing, is it? Now, in the broad gate, it says, «Fun and Freedom.» Which gate are you interested in? Man, «Sorrow and Death» or «Fun and Freedom»?

Hey, the Bible says a lot of people go through the broad gate, don’t we? Fun and Freedom! «I can run my own life! I can express fun and pleasure any way I want to express it!» Isn’t that the way to live? That’s the 21st century; that’s the United States. We have that privilege, certainly in Houston, Texas. Fun and Freedom-anybody doesn’t like that? But Jesus says, «When I run my own life and make my own choices, and I am free to do anything I want to do, that’s just fun!» And the narrow gate over here says «Sorrow and Death.»

But you see, Jesus sees the long range; he sees all the way through life now and life forever. He says, «The way to go is through the narrow gate.» Boy, the narrow gate-I’d have to get rid of some of the stuff that I think is so important to me, right? I carry around position, whatever it may be, friendships-all of that-I’d have to get rid of because it’s a tight squeeze through the turn. I mean, you know, we’ve got a lot of weight on us, the human weight. But to go through that gate, you have to be sorry for your sin, confess it, you have to die to self and live to God. «Sorrow and death» to get through that gate. Over here, it’s easy, man! I want «Fun and Freedom»! It’s a broad gate-I can go right in just the way I am, live my life just the way I want to be, right?

But see, Jesus is drawing a line on the continental divide between life now and life forever. Because here’s the kicker, folks; don’t miss this. This is the kicker: You go through this narrow gate, confess sin, die to self, live for God, and we do not walk a narrow path in this life, but it gets broader and broader and broader and broader! We look back -and because we walked through this narrow gate, we look back and see on the other side of that sign that said «Death and Sorrow,» now we see «Fun and Freedom.» Oh yes!

Anybody who does not live a disciplined life is bound for pain. Anyone who walks a narrow path ends up with a broad, broad way of «Fun and Freedom.» That’s the Christian life! And we see it on the other side. Now, let us go through this other gate. I have moved from one side of the platform to the other. Now we go through the broad gate. Man, I want «Fun and Freedom.» As I have «Fun and Freedom,» the path gets narrower and narrower, and I look back and on this side it says «Sorrow and Death.»

You see, in a disciplined life, going through the narrow gate, living with godly principles erupts into «Fun and Freedom.» I can’t tell you anybody-I just know myself-who has more «Fun and Freedom» because I walked through that narrow gate. I know thousands of people like that, and I know thousands of other people, and they’ve gone through the broad gate. Their families have gone with them; their friends have gone with them. And in time, I can tell you there’s going to be sorrow, and there’s going to be death. That’s the way God puts it, ladies and gentlemen. We either go through the narrow gate, receive him, be sorry for sin, confess sin, die to self, and live for God-and all of a sudden, it erupts into a life now and forever filled with, to use contemporary words, bigger theological words: «Fun and Freedom» forever in eternity.

Now have you gone through the narrow gate? Sorrow, confession, death to self? Is God Christ the center of your life? That’s the first thing Jesus asked. He said, «Here are two gates.» If you’ve gone to the narrow gate, you’re a Kingdom person. If you’ve gone through the broad gate, you’re not a Kingdom person. It’s just that simple.

The first parable- you say, «Hmm! I didn’t know that we were going to be thrown down on like this.» God’s doing it. Christ is doing it through his book. Then look at the next part: There are two gates, and there are also now two trees, but it’s a long passage. Verse 15: Jesus said, «Beware of the false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.» You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.

Here’s a scary verse: Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown in the fire. Therefore, Jesus says, «By their fruits, you shall know them.» What kind of tree are you? What kind of tree am I? In the Bible, there are two kinds of fruit: there is the fruit of the Spirit, and there are the gifts of the Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit are those who may have the ability to teach or preach, to sing, to administer, to usher, to help people, to serve, to do a multiplicity of things. These are all the gifts of the Spirit-the talents of the church. Jesus talks about them here in the next verses. He says, «Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord, ' shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in Heaven.»

«Lord, if we can have these gifts-these spiritual gifts-and he named some of them? Many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? ' Prophesied means to preach or teach-usually not foretell, but to tell forth.'And have I not done many wonders in your name? Have I not cast out demons? ' And he says, 'I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.'» In other words, ladies and gentlemen, this is a scary part of Scripture. Listen carefully: You can believe in Christmas. Jesus is God, wrapped up in human flesh. You can believe in all the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, and you think, «Well, that’s really true.» You can believe in the death, the crucifixion of Christ. You can believe in his resurrection; you can believe in his second coming, and you can preach and teach, and read and study, and do all of these things, and call him «Lord, Lord,» and not be a part of his Kingdom.

I hope that frightens a lot of us. That is using gifts he’s given. If you and I are part of his Kingdom, we may be given these gifts, and we can use them. But also, in our lives, we have the fruit of the Spirit. What are the fruits of the Spirit? Love- do you genuinely love without any other motivation? Love, joy-do you have joy when you come into a room? Does it feel like somebody has come in or somebody’s left? Is there joy in your life? My glory! Love, joy, peace-is there peace in your life? Contentment? Rhythm? Love, joy, patience. Man, I’ve prayed for patience a long time. God has given me a lot of reason to be patient, and I’m much better today. I’m still growing in my patience: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness. Are you a kind person? No? Are you a kind person? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness. Would somebody say, you know, that there’s a good-that she’s a good lady? That’s a good person. You can count on them to do good. Are you good? Are you faithful? Can you be counted on? «I’ll be there! I’ll do that! I’m a faithful friend, a faithful follower, a faithful…» Are you faithful? And then we look and say, «Well, are you gentle?»

Are you a gentle person? I know big guys, tough guys, but they’re so gentle and sweet. It’s just beautiful to see. And I know some little ladies who are not too gentle, you know? But this is a fruit. Are you gentle? And then finally, are you disciplined? Without a disciplined life, nobody’s going to get anywhere, anytime, anyplace. We’ve got to model it before our kids; we have to live it out ourselves. There are the eight fruits of the Spirit, and that gives indication that we know Jesus Christ, who embodied that fruit and gave us the ability to have that fruit hanging from your life and mine. Therefore, we are like trees planted by the rivers of water, planted in God, in Jesus Christ, and therefore you see the fruit of the Spirit coming from your life and my life. If there’s no fruit, what did Jesus say? Jesus said, «A tree that doesn’t bear fruit, cut it down!» That frightens me. That frightens me!

So we have these parables here-the parables. And then finally, we see the last illustration: parable, whether or not we’re in the Kingdom. Jesus said, «Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I would liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. Now everyone who hears these sayings of mine,» said Jesus, «and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell, and great was its fall.»

There we have it: two gates! Which one did you go through? Which one are you going through? Two trees: one barren, just for myself, «me, my, mine,» or one with good fruit, and part of that fruit has been expressed in your life? Or have you built your house, your life, on sand? Those who built their life on sand, when the rains come, when SOS comes, when 911 is called, when the bad report comes in, when you are forsaken by friends or family, and when you are in a place that leads to shame and disgrace to you and yours-you’re broken, you’re bleeding. If you’ve built your house on sand, that house will come tumbling down; it’ll be destroyed; it’ll be eliminated, right? That’s what happened in Israel-they built a house on the sand that had no water in it for years. When the floods came, they were gone.

Jesus is saying your life and my life is like that unless we build on the Rock. On the Rock, Corrie ten Boom- you all know that name from the book «The Hiding Place.» Jeanette Cliff George played that in a movie, remember? Our church at the time-it’s a story of a woman in Holland. Her family would hide the Jews who were under the sentence of being executed by the Nazis in an effort to wipe out all the Jews in that generation. You know six or seven million Jews were eliminated from this Earth and put in those furnaces. And Corrie ten Boom’s book-and the rest of them also-that many Christians were also in those death chambers. Corrie was hiding Jews, and they discovered that the ten Boom family was hiding Jews, and they took the Jews and took all of her family and threw them in Ravensbrück. Systematically her sister was killed, I think her father, all of her friends and family; she was the only one left. She stayed there those years, but right before the end of the Second World War, they didn’t know why; they gave her a release and they opened the gate of Ravensbrück, and she walked out into her freedom. Amazing! Amazing!

For 32 years, Corrie traveled America and the world telling the story of God’s grace, introducing people to Christ. Amazing life! Amazing life! Thirty-two years she traveled everywhere. She even met on one occasion the guard who had been so vicious and mean and evil to her, who exploited and abused her and so many. She met him, and he came forward with tears and said, «I’ve come to Christ! I’ve gotten forgiveness for all the evil in my life! But can you forgive me, Corrie?» She said the hardest thing she did was to forgive him-and she really did! She said they embraced. What a woman!

But when she was 85 years old, a man gave her a house in California-the first place she ever had to call her own, the first place she had a place to go and live-that little house in California. One day a lady went up to her and said, «Corrie, isn’t God good to give you this lovely house?» She said, «Yes, but he was also good in Ravensbrück.» We all go through Ravensbrück, and God is good in the middle of your Ravensbrück and my Ravensbrück, because somehow in all that, His will is being done. We don’t understand it; we may never understand this life. But we go through those Ravensbrück.

What’s happening when you’re in your Ravensbrück? You may be in a Ravensbrück right now. What’s going on? Little girl in her room by herself, and a storm came, rain fell, winds blew, thunder flashed, and she was just frightened! She stayed under the covers, didn’t sleep much of the night. She got up the next morning and ran down to breakfast. She looked at her daddy and said, «Daddy, where was God in the middle of that storm?» And she said, «Oh, I know, Daddy! What you’re going to say? God was busy making a morning!» Where is God in all of our Ravensbrück, ladies and gentlemen? I’ll tell you: He’s busy making a morning.