Sermon Tone Analysis

Overall tone of the sermon

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Anger
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Introduction
Roads and decisions fill American literature.
There is an American poem that has always fascinated me.
It is called.
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
— Robert Frost
Roads and forks in roads seem to mark decisions in life.
We seemingly of free will and seeing the road as being full of possibilities have the power to choose one road or the other road just as likely to lead us to an interesting end.
Robert Frost wrote this famous poem as a way to poke fun at a friend who would often regret the choice of one path over the one they traveled.
It seemed his friend often worried about missing the best opportunities that the other path might have provided for entertainment.
The central character of Frost’s poem chose the less travelled road, which also happened to be the path with the most resistance.
Apparently the path that was less travelled “made all the difference.”
But the author does not reveal what this difference might be.
That revelation is left to the reader.
Another popular work speaks of roads and choices...
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
… an exchange between Alice and the Cheshire Cat:
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where—” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
“—so long as I get SOMEWHERE,” Alice added as an explanation.
“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if only you walk long enough.”
Of course the idea is that if you don't care about the destination any road will do.
And the reader with the idea of setting goals and chasing them, the idea is that a person without a goal can cast about in any direction without ever getting anywhere in life.
Both of these passages from popular literature have been given a variety of meanings throughout the years.
Both have been used to encourage readers to set goals and know what they want out of life so that they can make decisions that will lead them to an end destination that is desired rather than just and destination at random.
Jesus uses a similar analogy, but places a greater importance on the destination rather than the road itself.
[pray]
Father God, I praise your precious and holy name.
I come to you asking that you forgive our sins, Lord.
God we relish being in your presence today.
You bring us great joy and we honor you above all today.
We thank you Lord for working in this church.
May keep our mind attuned to the prompting of your Spirit as you work in our midst.
Father, I ask that you give me clarity of mind and precision of speech this morning.
May I speak with a heart for your people and may we ever be willing to do the work that you set before us.
Amen
The entire Sermon on the Mount has focused on the Beatitudes, various ways to put righteousness into practice, and here midway through chapter 7, Jesus comes to the point where He is asking those who have heard His message, “Now what?” or more to the point, “What are you going to do with what you have heard?”
Jesus refuses to just allow His followers to bask in the abstract thought of the Beatitudes and the righteous way.
He leads them to a point where they have a decision to make.
This concept of two ways and two gates leading to two cities was not an uncommon analogy during Jesus’ day since Greek, Roman, and Jewish literature often include the analogy.
I.
The Broad Way → The Wide Gate → Destruction (Death)
The Broad Way is easily walked.
There is found an abundance of travelers to help you pass the time and entertain you in many different ways.
It is this crowd that celebrates being “broad minded” and accepting of all who walk the way.
All those except those who encourage narrow minded thinking.
The narrow minded are berated and chastised for their narrow thinking and for following like blind sheep.
The Broad Way leads to the Wide Gate, which allows all travelers to pass with all their baggage, with all their broad minded thinking.
The gate is wide to accommodate all who come.
This wide gate is easy to pass through without having to give up any of the easy, broad minded thinking.
Apparently we can take it with us... all our pride, arrogance, and self-righteous ways can carry us through the Broad Gate into the City of Destruction.
On the posts of the Wide Gate are two signs that say FREEDOM & FUN for all to see as they pass.
But in fine print underneath, the narrow minded can see that FREEDOM leads to eternal death and FUN leads to eternal sorrow when one crosses through the wide gate.
This broad minded way of thinking depends upon self-righteous thinking, which always seeks to please man rather than God.
It is working toward one’s own benefit, rather than working toward godly righteousness.
The real problem with the broad way and the wide gate is that they lead to the City of Destruction.
All who walk that way and enter that broad gate are destroyed.
Jesus continues “and there are many who enter through it.”
I fully believe that there are many good people who think of themselves as “good people” and maybe even “Christian” that have never chosen the righteous way of seeking to please God.
They have never sought out that narrow gate, but just simply chosen to take whatever road presents itself as the easy path.
They refuse to think narrowly, but accept the broad minded thinking of those around them.
In fact some of them show up at church every Sunday and when the time comes to make a decision for Christ, they look around and see who else will respond.
II.
The Narrow Way → The Small Gate → Heaven (Life)
The Narrow Way is tight and difficult.
It is filled with tight turns, treacherous mountainous passes, and trees and undergrowth pressing in on both sides snagging at your belongings.
There are no other travelers on this road to help you pass the time.
The way is lonely and the traveling is hard.
The Narrow Way leads to a Small Gate.
The gate is difficult to find as it is hidden.
In fact the Broad Minded Crowd could never find the Small Gate by themselves.
It is only the Narrow Minded One that can perceive the Small Gate’s existence because they are led to it.
The Narrow Minded One has chosen a difficult path of godly righteousness and knows exactly how to unlock the Small Gate.
Apparently you can take it with you... all the pride, arrogance, and self-righteousness can go right along with you through the Broad Gate.
Lining the posts of the Small Gate the wording is clear, DEATH on one post and SORROW on the other are posted to warn away those who may not be able to handle the rigors of righteous beyond the Small Gate.
Those who linger to read can learn that the signs truly indicate that they mean DEATH (to self) and SORROW (over sin) are what awaits them.
Most would never have the patience to endure the Narrow Way or search out the Small Gate.
In fact Jesus says that only a few will ever find the Small Gate.
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