Then He just says this: Don't just hear these things - they're obvious - Do them! And He tells this incredible story about a guy that builds his house on the rock, and no matter what comes against him - the house stands. Then He tells a story about a guy who builds his house on sand, and no matter what comes against him - the house falls down; and He says: this is what your life will be like, if you hear these words of Mine, and then don't do them. But if you hear these words of Mine, and put them into practice - it's going to solidify your life.
So here's the flow of thought: Don't get what you want by judging (that's how you treat other people). Don't get what you want by manipulation (how you treat others). Simply ask, seek and knock (how you treat others). Be aware of how your God-concept affects how you treat others (it's how you treat others). Broad roads and narrow ways (talking about how you treat others). Don't follow teachers whose teachings destroy your life (directly tied to how you treat others). Please be in a pursuit of God (totally tied to how you treat others); and then don't just hear these things - they're obvious - do them!
Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another - just as the Lord, for Christ's sake, has forgiven you. How obvious is that advice? Pretty obvious! How much better would your life be if you did that all the time? A lot! How many of you wish people treated you like that all the time? Everybody! How many people actually do that? Very few, even though it's obvious.
Broad is the road. There's lots of things in life where, everybody seems to be going right, and you just know you need to go left. Essentially Jesus is teachings are simply this: if everyone is doing something, it's a good sign you should be doing something else. Most people aren't on the right road.
Now what I want to do now is, I want to talk about something very important to becoming a Christ-follower. I want to talk about a narrow-road thing. Now before we get into this, I want to be very clear: most people cannot do this. You have to be pretty special to put this into practice. Most people will find themselves on the broad road with this - and I'm okay with that - because it was true in Jesus' day, it'll be true now, it'll be true 3000 years from now. Most people cannot do, what I'm fixing to tell you to do.
However, that doesn't mean it's not the best thing for your life; and it doesn't mean that the people who are doing it, aren't experiencing something, that people who aren't doing it cannot imagine. This is something Jesus speaks about, that He is urging His followers to do. Let me put part of what Jesus is saying into context. Do you reckon you're going to enjoy heaven? Really? I challenge you to go back and re-read every single thing Jesus ever said about heaven, and ask yourself the question: would you like it if you went there tomorrow? For instance Jesus said: in heaven, all the secret conversations of your heart will be revealed for all to see. You want to go there? So right now, if you're thinking: this guy's so boring, I can't wait to go home and watch NCIS - if we were in heaven, there would be a billboard up where everybody could see it. If you're a racist, and you die and you go to heaven, and you wake up at a table with every tribe, tongue and race - are you in heaven or hell?
When Jesus talked about heaven, He talked about it confrontationally. Essentially Jesus' invitation was not: here's how to go somewhere else. Jesus' invitation is: here's what heaven looks like, and the good news is that heaven is going to come to earth one day, and that is a blessed hope that we all look forward to, because death does not win. So heaven's going to come to earth one day. Here's what heaven looks like. I'm urging you to go ahead and align your life with it now, so that when you do walk into heaven one day, you don't get whiplash. That'd be awesome! The goal isn't to go to heaven one day. The goal is: if you walked into heaven tomorrow, what parts of your life would survive, and what parts of your life will be burned up?
This is one of these broad roads and narrow ways things. This is one of these areas where Jesus is describing the kingdom of heaven, and it is so challenging. Here's what He says: If your brother or sister sins, then go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. We're already on a narrow road aren't we? How many people can get hurt, and physically have the courage, and the faith, and the discipline, to just keep it between two people? Very few! Jesus said: this is the best life - just between the two of you. And if they listen, then you have won them over, but if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. I love this.