You're listening to Heed the Word with our pastor and teacher Ken Davis. Pastor Ken is the senior pastor at Calvary Chapel Southwest Metro in Burleson, Texas. Please join us as we study the Gospel of Luke, verse by verse.

The lost are lost, but those people that I just mentioned, those are our brothers and sisters. You have brothers and you have sisters whom you do not know. Shouldn't you care enough to go find them and bring them home? I want each of you to begin to pray and ask God who He would have you invite into your life.

The Gospel of Luke is the third account in the Gospels of the life and teachings of our Savior, Jesus Christ. As believers, there are few studies that will benefit us more spiritually than studying the life and teachings of the Master. Pastor Ken closes with a powerful exhortation to the body in Calvary Chapel Southwest Metro that applies to you and I as well. The time has come, brothers and sisters, to begin going out and drawing others to Jesus. We truly don't know how much time we have left until the return of our Savior. So let's be about winning souls for his kingdom in the meantime. Don't forget to stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Heed the Word, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now, please open your Bibles to the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 2. So join Pastor Ken.

But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of a stranger. Jesus used this to illustration, but they did not understand the things which he spoke to them. Then Jesus said to them again, Most assuredly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy, but I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. In John 14, 6, Jesus said to, he said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. I'm telling you guys, there is a very narrow gate. The gate into the kingdom of God, the gate into heaven is Jesus Christ. There is no other way to enter that gate. If somebody tells you that there's another way to enter in, then Jesus just told you he's a liar and he's a thief. Don't believe him. Don't listen to his voice. Don't listen to the one who tells you you need Jesus, but you also need this and this and this. You see, you need Jesus, but you know, you better be able to speak in tongues, brother, because if you can't speak in tongues, well then hey, I don't know. You know, or you you you better believe in Jesus. And you know, in addition to that, you better be baptized, you know, in the name of Jesus or by full immersion or by the, you know, we want to put a lot of conditions on the different keys there are to that gate. But you know what my Bible says? My Bible says that if you believe in your heart and if you confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, you shall be saved. Period. That's it. Now I will tell you this: you don't enter in that gate haphazardly. You don't enter in that gate accidentally. You don't enter in that gate by walking up and hanging around the gate. You don't enter the gate by associating with people who've gone through the gate. You don't enter the gate by deciding to go your own way and figure you'll make it around to the gate eventually. You go through the gate by taking the difficult way. Now it's extremely narrow. And how many of us as Christians haven't been accused of being very narrow? Very narrow-minded, right? Yes, praise God. I am very narrow-minded. And I believe in a very narrow way. Because the bottom line is, guys, look, two plus two is four. No matter how many different ways you want to line it up. You can put two plus two is four, or two plus two is four, or do it on your calculator, two plus two is four. Two plus two is always gonna be four. How narrow-minded of you. Why can't it be five? Because it's not, it's four, and in the same way, I might really like for there to be some other way to be saved, but the bottom line is there isn't. It's Jesus, and that's it. That is narrow. And for so many people, it is difficult because it requires admitting that we can't do it ourselves. That we need him. We don't like to admit it when we need something, do we? We want everybody to think we've got it all under control. We're doing just fine, praise God. Oh, but we need Jesus. We start on that difficult way into the kingdom by doing a very unpopular thing. We start by denying ourselves. In Matthew 16, 24, Jesus said unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. You see, the difficult way is the way of the cross. It's the way of self-denial. It's the way of saying, This situation in my life may not be any fun. It may be difficult, but it is the way that God has chosen for me. And I will not leave this path. You know, it isn't easy to keep the flesh under control, is it? We struggle with the flesh. And many of us would prefer that broader way. We want to believe that all paths lead to God, right? We want to be able to look at that mountain, which is the kingdom of God, the pinnacle of which is heaven. And we want to say, hey, here I stand at the bottom of the mountain, and I see a path here, and I see a path there, and I see a path there, and I see a path there, and it really doesn't matter which path I take, because every one of those paths is gonna lead me to the top of the mountain, right? Wrong. Any of you who've ever done any hiking or mountain biking or any type of traveling in the mountains, understand that not every one of those paths leads up the mountain. In fact, some of those paths probably lead to a pretty dangerous place. Who can best know which path leads to the top of the mountain? The one who himself came down from there. The one who came down from heaven is the only one who has the right to say how to get back there again. And that one is Jesus Christ. Now, Proverbs tells us in chapter 14, verse 12, that there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. And when we choose our own way, however good, however broad, however easy the path may seem, we need to understand that the bridge is out. And if we travel that path, we will find destruction. Don't ever let anybody tell you that it's easy. It's a struggle. Paul told us it was a struggle in Galatians 15, verses 16 and 17, where he tells us, I say then, walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. There is a constant struggle going on in the life of a believer. And if in a time of weakness we succumb to the desires of the flesh, have we lost our salvation? No. But is that the way we're to walk? No. We're to be led by the Spirit. Paul talks about this in great length in Romans chapter five. Let's go there. Really, Romans chapter six is where we want to be, but I want to give you a little background in five as we head into six. Just a couple of verses. Romans five, twelve. Paul is talking about Adam and how sin entered the world through Adam, and about how Jesus, the last Adam, actually brought righteousness as opposed to sin and freed us from our sins. Verse 12, therefore, justice through one man, sin entered the world, and death through sin, he's talking about Adam there, and thus death spread to all men because all sinned. Now switch over here to verse 17. And he says, For if by one man's offense death reigned through the one, that is through Adam, much more those who receive abundance of grace and the gifts of righteousness will reign in life through the one Jesus Christ. Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one man's righteous act, the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one man's obedience many will be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered that offense might abound. The law came so that we could see our need for a Savior. The law came to show us our sin. Moreover, the law entered that offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. So that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And here's where I'm wanting to get. Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Should we say, I'm saved? The blood of Jesus Christ has covered and paid for my sins, I might as well get his money's worth. So since I'm forgiven, I'm gonna go out and do whatever I want to do because I know that God will forgive me. Oh, I know that what I'm doing is wrong, I know it's wrong, but you know I'm happier this way. I am enjoying my life like this. I'm going to have my fun now, and if there are consequences, I'll pay them, but I know that God will forgive me. You'd be surprised. That is the attitude of some. And if we're honest, we'll admit that that's been our attitude too. There have been moments when we have said, I want to do this thing, and I know it's wrong, but I'm gonna do it anyway. I know I'll feel bad for it later, but you know, I know that God will forgive me. And so we presume upon the grace of God. That is a dangerous place to be. Paul says, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not. How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that many of us, as we're baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into his death? Therefore, we were buried with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Moving on to verse 11, Paul says, Likewise you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey it in its lusts, and do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness. Guys, the Bible tells us very clearly that you are a slave to he whom you serve. You are either going to serve sin by serving yourself, or you are going to serve righteousness by serving the Lord. You will either be a slave to your own flesh and its lusts and desires, or you will be a slave to the holiness and the love of God. Either way, you're a slave. You need to choose your master. We all do. You say, Ken, you're talking about works, man. You're bumming me out. Yeah, you know? Faith without works is dead. Now we're saved by faith. Don't get me wrong. But if we're saved, there's gonna be fruit to evidence that fact. So how do we do it? The fact of the matter is, we don't. Galatians 2.20 says this. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. The key to all of this is allowing Christ to live in you and through you. I read a statistic the other day. It says that, you know, we consider America to be a Christian nation, right? And yet, 74% of Americans do not attend church. I was sharing this statistic with a coworker of mine, and he says, Wow, you know, that makes you wonder how many of the 74% that don't attend church actually are true believers? And I said, you know, that's a good question, but I'll give you a better question. How many of the 26% that do attend church are true believers? You see, that's the question. That 74% that aren't attending church, they may believe, but they're not being obedient because the Bible tells us very clearly that we're not to forsake the gathering together as of the saints as some are want to do. We're to gather into fellowship. If people are outside of fellowship, they need to understand that they're walking in disobedience to God. Now it's not that they're not saved, but they're walking in disobedience. But that's not really the question. The question is, how many of that 26% that are in church are truly born again? How many of that 26%, how many of us have actually entered in through the narrow gate? And how many of us are just hanging out around it? No one can answer that question for you but you. Jesus said, Then you will begin to say, We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets. Well, that was true primarily of that generation in Israel at that time. But he will say, I tell you, I do not know you where you are from. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. When you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out, they will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and they will sit down in the kingdom of God. And indeed, there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last. You see, when this man was asking this question, are there many who will be saved? What he was really asking is there are many, are there many of Israel that will be saved? Because the assumption is that none of those Gentiles are gonna be saved. But Jesus says, You're wrong. There are many of you who who are first, right? The gospel was first presented to you, but you're gonna be last. And there are many of those who were last, and they're gonna be first. Jesus said they're gonna come from the north, they're gonna come from the south, they're gonna come from the east and from the west, and they're gonna enter in that gate. Are there many who are going to be saved? You bet there are many who are gonna be saved. It says in Revelation that it is a multitude that cannot be numbered. But that multitude's gotta enter in through that narrow gate. If they go any other way, there's no hope for them at all. On an unrelated note, I want to say something. I thought a lot about that. 74% and 26%. And I realized something. Most churches in America spend the vast majority of their finances, their time, and their efforts trying to get their share of that 26%, while 74% sits outside, not even recognizing the danger that they're in. Just in our own little body, we can prove this point. How many of you came here from a different fellowship where you were in regular attendance? Most of us. Most of us are that 26% that just goes from one church to another, to another. How many of you were from that 74% that was outside? Just a few. Can I tell you? We need to go get more of that 74%. Look around you. Look around. Go ahead. Look around right now. Everybody look around. Look at how much empty space is here. Now, today there's a little more than usual, but even if everybody was here today, there would still be a whole lot of empty room, wouldn't there? I've said this before. If you've heard me say it before, forgive me, but it's an illustration that bears repeating. When the Titanic sank, there were many lifeboats that weren't even half full. And as the screams of the people out there in that water were crying out for help, those that were in the lifeboat that were safe from the disaster refused to go back and get the ones that were dying. This is a lifeboat that is our vessel as we row along together through this ocean of life on our way to the kingdom of God. And we've got plenty of room in our lifeboat. Now, I'm telling you this not because I want us to have a big church, or because I want there to be a lot of people here, or because I want to go full time. Although all of those would be great, that's not my motivation. I'm telling you this, guys, because people are dying and going to hell. And we ought to care about that. And you say, well, Ken, not all of that 74% is unsaved. Well, you're right. There are a lot of that 74% that have a relationship with God, and that should grieve us just as much because they know God, but they're not fellowshipping with the body of Christ, and they're not growing, and they're not experiencing the fullness of God in fellowship with other believers. The lost are lost, but those people that I just mentioned, those are our brothers and sisters. You have brothers and you have sisters whom you do not know. Shouldn't you care enough to go find them and bring them home? I want each of you to begin to pray and ask God who He would have you invite into your lifeboat. And as He puts that name upon your heart, I want you to begin to pray with them consistently. I want you to actually write their name down. What a radical idea. And pray for them every day. And then I want you to invite them to come and be part of our fellowship Sunday morning. Not to say you can't be inviting them every day along the way, okay? That'd be good too. But I want you to commit to fast at least one meal if you can. More if you'd like. And just really seek God for that person. It could be a believer who's not in fellowship. It could be a non-believer. Whatever the Lord lays on your heart and equips you to do. I want you to get a hold of another person in this body and say, these are my two, who are you your two? And let's agree together in prayer that the Lord's gonna bring them in. Equip yourselves for the battle that lies ahead. It is time. And understand that the Lord has lain a foundation in this place upon which it is time to build. We've reached in and we've fellowshipped and loved one another. We've reached up and we've praised and we've worshipped God together. It's time to reach out. It's time to say that God's kingdom is more important than my kingdom. My allegiance is to my Lord.

Unfortunately, that's all the time we have for today. You've been listening to Heed the Word, the teaching ministry of Pastor Ken Davis at Calvary Chapel in Burleson, Texas. We are currently making our way through the Gospel of Luke here on Heed the Word. The Gospel of Luke is packed full of insights about Jesus, our Savior. So we encourage you to join us again, same time, same place, for the next study through Luke with Pastor Ken. As we mentioned at the beginning of today's broadcast, this teaching, as well as many others, are available from the Heed the Word Media Player. You can listen to today's teaching, download today's teaching, subscribe to the Heat the Word podcast, or even get a copy on your mobile phone. Everything's right there. There's even a Bible available for you to follow along in the scriptures as Pastor Ken teaches. So log on to HeedTheWord.org and continue studying with us today. If today's teaching has blessed you, perhaps you'd like to visit us for worship. Calvary Chapel Southwest Metro meets each Sunday morning at 10.30am and Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. We'd love to have you stop by and join us. For more information and driving directions, log on to www.heedtheword.org. This has been another edition of Heed the Word, the verse by verse, chapter by chapter, and book by book teaching ministry of Ken Davis, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel, Southwest Metro. Place a marker in your Bibles and join us next time for our continuing study through the Gospel of Luke right here on Heed the Word.