Greater Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church

Guest (Male): You are now listening to an inspirational message from Greater Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church where Dr. Michael W. Wesley Sr. is the pastor. Please join the service in progress.

Dr. Michael W. Wesley Sr.: Lord, we're so thankful and grateful that we have him that we can call on. And I want to call on his name now as we prepare our hearts. Lord, we thank you for blessing us with another day of life. We thank you for another week that you have brought us through. You've brought us through sorrows, you've brought us through troubles, you've brought us through challenges and difficulties. And we just praise you for who you are. We thank you for bringing us together on this Lord's day. Thank you for family members, thank you for friends, thank you for folks.

And we pray now that you would open our hearts that we'll be receptive of your word. That we will not only hear it, but we will do it. Change us, fill us, bless us, guide us, direct us, cause us to be the people that you want us to be. Bless the words now in our mouth and the meditations on our hearts that they may be acceptable in your sight. Oh Lord, our strength and our redeemer. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

I want to connect the message today with a number of activities and events going on in our world and in our life, even with what we talked about last time when we were talking about forcing and how impossible it is for to be saved on your own merit. But I want us to direct your attention today to Matthew's Gospel, chapter seven. It's a lengthy passage, verses 13 through 27. And I'd like to read it in your hearing and have you follow along with us. Many of these words are familiar to you, but we'll see the connection in just a moment.

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: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works?

And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

Which way is heaven? Which way is heaven? Which way is heaven? Have you ever been lost? Have you ever needed direction? Have you ever been traveling on the road and you felt that you were going in the right direction but the road signs disappeared or suddenly it wasn't made quite clear where you were? How close or how far away you were from it? You stop to ask direction. Now, usually that's as late as men want to do it. There's a stubborn streak that live in men that make him feel like he know where he going to go. And he can be lost as a Bessie bug, but he won't ask.

And just imagine how much this occurred even before the invention of GPS. People all over the place. I've been there. I've been lost. And I've tried to find my way and I've had to ask directions every now and then. And even today, I don't allow pride to override me when I need to be guided. And there comes a point in all of our life that we need guidance and we need clarity and we need direction. And as it relates to our eternal destiny, that is certainly one of those places that we need to find the way.

Now, I know the answer. To go to heaven, you just turn right and go straight. Some will have to get that on the way home. But that's how you get there. That's where heaven is. But you don't have to need a GPS now. Jesus made it clear: I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me. So and most people when we think about heaven, you're thinking about geography, you're thinking about a location.

But it's more than a location. It's where will you spend eternity? It's what is the quality of your life as it is lived out on the earth and who can you count on? I submit to us today that a lot of people are like men. They not only have pride, but they are stuck. They are stuck and they are lost and they don't want to anyone to know that they are lost. And consequently, a lot of pretense takes place. But this is far too serious to play with.

I'm conscious and I'm sensitive to it today because of the large number of funerals that we have had and continue to have. And it hurts me as a pastor, as a leader, when people have been with you and under your tutelage or your teaching or your leadership and they leave and you're not sure. It's the same place every parent is when your child leaves home. And your child leaves home to go off to school or go into the military and it leaves you with that wonder in your mind: Have I given them enough?

Do they have the wherewithal to be able to stand all of the onslaught of what you know is out there? And it sends you to your knees. And sometimes you just have to pray. I remember when my boy went off to college and I decided I'm going to go visit because I'm not sure. And I went and I saw the little apartment that he was in and I said, "Goodness, Lord." I said, "Come on, I'll tell you what. We're going to go shopping. Let me get you some furniture to help you kind of live a little better."

"No, Dad, I'm alright. I'm alright." And I left there with tears in my eyes. I'm going down the interstate. I said, "God, you got to help that boy." And God dried my tears so quickly. He said, "I helped you when you were here." I said, "Yeah, you're right. You did." But heaven, the abode of eternity. Do you understand you don't get two runs at life? You go through life once. And you cannot afford to make a mistake on the destiny and on where it is.

So I came this morning to help you because I understand that there are alternatives that are being proposed and people are being swept away and people are being misled. And consequently, people are missing the mark. The text that is before us today is the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus' famous sermon in his early part of his ministry, right after he's called the disciples, the 12. And he's teaching now on the kingdom of God.

He starts the sermon by talking about the kinds of attitudes that are acceptable by God. Blessed are the pure in heart, they shall see God. The meek, they will inherit the earth. Those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, don't worry because you're in good company. They persecuted the prophets who were before you, he told them. He talked about: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Not do unto others before they do unto you.

He talked about the need not to worry. For which of you by worrying can add anything to his life? You can't add any length to your height and you can't add any length of days to your life. You don't have to worry about what you're going to eat, he said. You don't have to worry about what you're going to wear, what you're going to put on because not even Solomon in all of his glory could outdress a lily. Jesus was talking. He was preaching. He said all you have to do is ask and you'll receive. Seek and you'll find. Knock and the door be open.

He said everyone that asketh receiveth and him that knocketh the door be open unto him. He was talking and: when you pray, he said, don't be like the Pharisees and the hypocrites. Don't stand on the street corners with your pose. Don't talk just to be talking and let others hear what you say. But when you pray, go into your closet and talk to your Father in secret. And your Father who hears in secret will reward you in open.

Then he said, you got to be careful. I know you're in the church but judge not that you don't be judged. For with the same judgment that you measure out to others, it's going to be measured back to you. Having said all of those things, now he begins to head toward the exit. He was closing. And in the close of the sermon for those that know sermonic structure, the last part of a sermon is called the appeal, where he puts the message into the laps of his hearers and he says now, what about you?

You decide what you're going to do. And since he had been talking about the kingdom and now he's talking about heaven, he said you got to be careful. And he makes a list of contrast. He says there appears to be, listen here, two ways to heaven. But I want to warn you that only one of those ways are right. It is the way of religion. And people are religious and the practice of religion is spread everywhere. We practice religion in politics, we practice religion on the job, we practice religion in our home.

We play religion when it comes to church. But not all of those work in terms of getting you where you need to go. And what he really boils it down to say is there aren't but two religions. One that's real and one that's not. And all of the religions got a sign that say heaven this way. But only one of them can really lead you there. So he lays out contrast in the text that I have put before you, starting in verse 13.

He says that there are two gates that you can enter into. There's the broad way and there's the narrow way. He says there are two ways you can go. You can go the right way or you can go the wrong way. He says there are two crowds. There's the crowd where everybody is, many people, and then there's a crowd where it's just a few. And he says and there are two destinations. One that leads to life and one that leads to destruction.

So in the appeal, he says: what about you? And he gives a command. He says to his hearers, he says, enter ye at the narrow gate. He said, avoid the broad way. The broad way is where everybody is. And you've got all kinds of crowds on the broad way. And a lot of people are fooled because they see the crowd and they think, well, everybody is going this way so this must be the right way. And you've got a whole lot of folk that get in crowds and end up getting messed up.

Man, listen, I try to avoid crowds when I don't have to be in them. You know, I've learned something that people, especially African-American people, we like the crowds, especially when it's one of three circumstances: a fight, a fire, or a funeral. If you want to get in a crowd, you let one of those things happen and you'll have a crowd. Or a giveaway. And it's the strangest thing is that innocent people get hurt because they be running toward the crowd and you end up getting shot running over there where foolish stuff is.

Jesus is warning us that's not the way to heaven even though they have a sign up say: this way to heaven, everybody's going. But everybody's not going. Enter into the narrow gate. The narrow gate is the gospel. It's limited. Few people that find it because everybody's not interested in truth. Even people who come to church, and I'm not criticizing you because I know y'all came here because you like the word, but a lot of people come because they like the music.

I used to be there was a guy who went to church here. He said, "Man, I can't wait until you get through so I can hear that band play again." But you can hear the band all day. And you can hear the choir all day and I love music, I majored in it, but that won't get you to heaven. It's going to be through the gospel. How can they believe in him in whom they have not heard? And how can they hear unless there be a preacher?

And how can he preach unless he has been sent? So it's through the word. God through the foolishness of preaching has chosen to save people. But few be that find it. And so he says: enter into the narrow gate, the strait gate. Not everybody is going to be on that path. And I just think about the trends of today's world. That the trends of today's world lead people astray. It's in the music. The trends of today's world is changing the vocabulary of children and youth.

Children and youth are learning to cuss at earlier ages because they hear it in the song. They learn how to misbehave because they are being instructed from the video games. People get themselves in trouble because of the fashions of the day. I was mentioning this morning, just in Los Angeles just a couple of weeks ago. And the fashion parade, the hotel was right next to the theater. And at night they were going to the theater.

And I said, "Lord have mercy." I mean, I'm serious. You know, I mean when I was a boy, girls wore dresses and they wore slips and they wore skirts and they wore hose and they wore everything and you just had to guess. You don't have to guess no more. I mean and what I know about the broad way is what's out there in the fashion world is going to make its way into the church. And if they already, you know, I know what miniskirts are and I know what hot pants are, you know, I've been around, I'm no child.

But what they got now, Lord. Are you hearing me? Broad way. On Broad Way the lights are bright. On Broad Way, music is going. I was mentioning earlier that I lived in Nashville for a while and there's a street downtown Nashville called Broadway. And Broadway is packed. You can't even go down there no more. All of the honky-tonk joints, all of the country and western music. And it's amazing that all of the black people that have become country and western.

All of the ladies be down there, they have on no clothes but they got on their boots. Boots on the ground. It's just amazing to me. But what it's going to do is going to influence a whole generation to say this is the way. And see, the point is nobody holds up a sign that say this way to hell. Everybody's sign says this way to heaven. And you can be fooled. You can go down the trail. You can go down the trail of fun. You can go down the trail of party. You can go down the trail of drugs.

You can go down the trail of alcohol. You can go down the trail of criminal activity and you can find yourself lost. And in that low place, you'll be saying, "Which way is heaven?" Only thing is you might be too late. What frightens me, one of the things that frighten me as a pastor as we get ready to open school and our new generation of kids are going off to college and other places, is will they be able to come back?

Oh, you don't understand. There's so many leave and they leave with a Bible in their hand, but not one in their heart. And there is a difference. And they get out there and life begin to throw its game and stuff at them and they can get led down a trail. Some fortunately come back when they're about 35 or 40 when life has beat up on them real bad. But there are so many that never get a chance to come back. So which way is heaven?

It's not following the broad way. The contrast here: two ways, two gates, the narrow way and the broad way. Two ways that you can enter. Two crowds that you can follow. You can follow where everybody is or you can decide for yourself that you're not going to be led by everybody else. That you want to know and you do know what's right and you're going to go the right way for yourself because what you choose will determine your destiny.

And if you choose the wrong one, you'll end up with destruction in your path. If you choose the right one, you'll find yourself with eternal life. Because the truth is, not only is it in the music, not only is it in the movies, not only is in the fashions, but Jesus warns that you have to be careful about false prophets or false teachers. Everybody who dawn a pulpit or everybody who wave a Bible or everybody who say "Praise the Lord" are not always accurate in what they are teaching.

And just because somebody got a famous name don't mean they know what they talking about. You got just as much bad theology as you have good theology. And let me just tell you, when you go into the bookstore, you have to be careful about what you read because not every author is writing the truth. Some people are intentionally trying to set you up and overthrow your faith. And Jesus warned: beware of false prophets. And you might be guessing and wondering to yourself, how in the world will I know a false prophet?

Jesus said: just check out their fruit. He said: a tree is known by the fruit it bear. He said a tree just can't produce fruit just because it want to produce fruit. He said men don't gather figs from thorns and they don't gather grapes from thistles. No, it has to be a grapevine to produce grapes. It has to be a fig tree to produce figs. And so you can know the tree by its fruit. A good tree is going to produce good fruit and a corrupt tree is going to produce evil fruit.

So you got to be careful what you're listening to and who you're listening to. And people can talk so smooth and be lying. I'm not going to call Donald's name today, but trying to force tariffs on people like that's going to be in their best interest. Trying to convince the American people that that's in their best interest and you're jacking up inflation and the cost of living and you're taking away goods and services from poor people and you're laughing at them and smiling at them, say, "Oh, that's going to bless you."

And some people are so gullible that they are smiling. "Oh, Mr. Trump." Beware. But he ain't the only one. And it's not just in the political arena. You have to be careful in church. Not every slick-head, ring-bearing, suit-wearing, sweat-looking, moonwalking preacher is telling the truth. And you just have to have the ability to determine the truth. And the Bible said, "And you shall know the truth, for the truth shall set you free. And whom the Son set free, free indeed."

So you want to be where you can hear the truth, man. You know, there's a lot of people in these last days that Paul promised that they would be dangerous because people going to heap unto themselves teachers having itching ears. They're not going to want to hear the truth. They'll be drawn to fables and the lies and the things like that. And you got that happening today. A whole lot of folk are being swept away.

And it's hurtful that people who should be leading the right way are misleading people on purpose. But God says you watch their fruit and you can know what kind of tree it is. And good trees, you ought not to have to go down looking way under the branches to see what it is. You ought to be able to tell some of that stuff from a distance. But the point that Jesus is making as he's winding this sermon up is that there's going to come a day of judgment.

And that day of judgment is what bothers me. It's because he says that: not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," is going to enter. See, people can talk a good game here. They can sound religious here. And they can make you think that they know the Lord. Church folk got it. You can't beat black people churching. We can church. We can praise the Lord. We got the way, we got the step, we got the line dance. If I counted to three now and said to the left, everybody know what to do because we know how to do that kind of stuff.

But we don't, and so people can be misled. But you can fool, Ms. White Gregory used to say it to us. She said: you can fool some of the people all the time. There's a group of folk you can fool all the time. He said and you can fool some of the people some of the time. But you can't fool all of the people all of the time and you can't fool God at all. And so while you might have the right verbiage while you're among your brothers and sisters in church, you're going to have to stand before God.

And it ain't going to be the slick talk. You're not going to be able to con him. You're not going to be able to trick him. You're not going to be able to fool him because the Lord said not everyone who says to me in that day, talking about the day of judgment, not everyone will enter in. And people are going to be trying. I can almost hear it, I can almost see it. I don't want to mimic anybody, but you can almost hear it.

"Lord, did I not prophesy in your name? Did I not cast out demons in your name? Did I not heal the sick in your name? Lord, did I not even go to Greater Shiloh?" Or name whatever church you want to call. Because people think that just because you are associated with a place, that that means you're in. You can sleep in a garage and that won't make you a car. And you can sleep in the church and that won't make you a Christian.

So it's not association, it's what you do. Jesus said you're going to have to be not only a hearer of the word, but you're going to have to also be a doer of the word. It's not enough to come and be a consumer and hear and criticize, because that's what people do. They come in church, you find the biggest critics in church. Nothing is right. Nobody is right but them. I'm sorry, y'all. I'm talking about which way is heaven.

And you don't get there by beating up somebody else. You don't get there by cutting the legs out from somebody else. You don't get there because you can talk louder than somebody else or you can point out somebody else's flaws. You get there by doing. And doing is not just on Sunday, it's living the life. It's loving people who don't love you. It's being kind to those who are not kind to you.

It's owning Jesus as your savior when you could deny him. There have been so many times I've been tempted to want to take off my collar because of the crowd that I was in. But I had to learn how to stand and be alright with who I am. And if it meant that somebody else didn't want to be around because I was there, then too bad, so sad. I got to be who I am. I got to do it like I do it. I can't be one way one day and another way another day. That's called wishy-washy.

And wishy-washiness and lukewarmness make Jesus sick. He said to the church at Laodicea, "You make me sick." He said, "I wish you were either hot or cold, but because you're lukewarm, you make me sick." How many people ever been made sick by somebody else who you could look right through? Don't raise your hand, don't get yourself in trouble. But the day is coming, the day of judgment is coming.

And the thing about it is we can't judge other people. We can't determine who is going to heaven and who is not. Everybody in here today look alike. They all got on their holy duds. All of the men got on suits and ties and they look like the epitome of God. And all of the ladies just look so wonderful. Everybody's just arrayed so nicely today. And you cannot tell. And that's what is so frightening and what is so gripping.

And this is exactly what Jesus talks about as he's about to drop the mic. He's moving toward a close. I don't think he had a hoop. I don't think he had a knee-scrub. I don't think he had any of the antics that we sometimes see. But I think his word became increasingly piercing as he talks about judgment and heaven for real. As he talks about who would be in there.

In Matthew 25, he gave a parable of a wedding feast and he said there were 10 virgins. The idea wasn't that they were young girls that had not been with anybody. Girls in the Jewish culture got married early. They got married at ten, eleven, twelve, fifteen at the latest, so naturally their friends would also be other young maidens like themselves and therefore had not experienced the gamut of life.

And so he says there were ten of them and he said and five of them were wise and five of them were foolish. But while they were waiting on the bridegroom, you couldn't tell who was wise and who were foolish. They did not have signs tacked on them, say, "I'm a wise one." Nor did they have signs that say, "I'm a foolish one." Looking at them, they all looked alike.

But it was only when the groom came at midnight. And the groom symbolizes the return of our Lord Jesus. And at midnight, there went out a cry. And all of the bridesmaids stood up. It was time to trim their lamps because in the Jewish culture, weddings were at night. And they would make a parade through the streets. The girls would light their torches and they would go through the streets of the villages and they would be singing. And other people would come in and join in and it was a major event.

They didn't have carnivals, they didn't have festivals, they didn't have movie theaters, they didn't have bowling alleys, so the wedding was the big thing. And that night, Jesus said: at midnight, the cry came that the bridegroom cometh. And all of the girls rose up to trim their lamps. And it was only at that hour that it was revealed who was wise and who was foolish. Because the wise had brought extra oil.

And they had the wherewithal to then fill their lamps and be able to light their torches so that they could go through the streets with the singing and with the dancing as they made their way to the groom's house for the wedding feast. But the foolish came up and they cried out, "Give us of your oil for our lamps are gone out." And the wise said, "No, we can't do it. Go to Walmart. Go somewhere. Dollar General. And buy for yourself because if we gave you of our oil, we would not have enough for ourselves."

And so the text says that the girls went off and while they were gone, the groom came. And by the time if they ever found any, they came to the groom's house, it was too late. Yeah, my brothers and sisters, when we look around today and we see us all here and we all look alike, we can't tell who's who. That's why I raise the question today: which way is heaven? It's not the geographical location it is, but it's whether or not you have made the extra preparation to have the oil in your lamp.

If you make the preparation now that you got the Holy Ghost living on the inside, you can be sure that you're going to have what you need when the time comes. Flipping back to Matthew 7, Jesus changes the analogy this time. And this time, instead of calling them bridesmaids, he uses the analogy of homes. And he said there were two builders and they both built houses. One house was built and it was anchored, its foundation was on a rock.

And the wind came. Oh Lord, that's judgment. The storm came. The waves rose and beat up against that house. But the text say: it fell not, because it was built on a rock. Anybody know who the rock is? On Christ, the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. And the other builder house was built on sand. Well, when they both were standing, both houses look alike. You could not tell who was going to heaven and who was going to hell.

But when judgment day came, when the storm came, when the winds began to blow, when the waves began to rise, when the rains began to fall, then the houses that were built on sand fell apart. And I can hear Jesus say, "And what about you? What kind of foundation are you building on?" I don't want to see anybody have to leave this earth and be separated from God forever and ever. But this is the time to decide what gate you're going through.

This is the time to decide what teacher you're going to listen to. This is the time to decide what foundation are you going to build on. Well, because I built my house on a rock, I know I can stand. So when I wake up in the morning, I just look around and I tell the Lord, "Thank you." When I go throughout the day, I look around and I tell the Lord, "Thank you." When I come back in in the evening and I'm ready to lay it down, I tell the Lord, "Thank you."

When I look at my family and everybody is doing all right, I tell the Lord, "Thank you." When I look at my hard-headed boys sometimes, in spite of their hard-headedness, I still tell the Lord, "Thank you." Sometimes I have to tell the Lord thank you for my brothers and my sisters. Sometimes I have to tell the Lord thank you for my trials and my tribulations. I have to tell him thank you for when sickness comes into my body and I feel a surge of power and he restored my health.

Anybody know what I'm talking about? He will restore your soul. He will lead you in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. And even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Oh, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all of the days of my life because I know where heaven is.

And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. So I just came to tell the Lord, "Thank you." Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for dying. Thank you for going in the grave. Thank you for rising the third day morning. Thank you for living in my soul. Thank you for including me in this work. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.

It's time now to tell the Lord, "Thank you." Thank you. I know which way is heaven. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me." So I just tell him thank you for showing me which way. And I don't have to be misled. This is your moment this morning. Somebody who's here today might want to begin a new walk, want to change their life, want to give the Lord a chance to demonstrate that he is who he says he is. All you have to do is come today. Give God your heart. Give one of these ministers your hand. And let's begin this walk. Let's begin this journey. It's time to tell God thank you.

Guest (Male): Make sure you tell God thank you.

Guest (Male Singer): For all he's done and for all victories he's won. Make sure you say thank you. Make sure you tell God thank you. For all he's done and all victories he's won. Make sure you say thank you. I really love this part of the song because it's one of those ones where you really don't have to think about the lyrics. All you got to do is begin to think about all that God has done for you. If God has done anything for you, you ought to be able to sing this part of the song with us. It's just simple. All it says just thank you Jesus over and over.

Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Oh Lord, we thank you. Can somebody just say that wherever you are? Thank you. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Oh Lord, we thank you. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Oh Lord, we thank you. Somebody just tell him from the depths of your heart, say: thank you Jesus. Somebody has a medical reason to tell him thank you. Somebody has a financial reason to tell him thank you. Somebody has a family reason to tell him thank you. Somebody ought to tell the Lord thank you. Wherever you are, just tell him thank you. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Oh Lord, we thank you. Don't worry about who's next to you. This is a you and God moment. Just tell him: thank you Jesus. Oh Lord, we thank you.

Dr. Michael W. Wesley Sr.: You want to know heaven, you got to learn to be thankful. You got to learn to be grateful. Now you can pretend if you want to. Remember, you can fool me. You can fool other people, but you cannot fool God. So if you're going to praise him, praise him for real. If you're not, shut up. God knows who you are and God knows what's in your heart.

Guest (Male): Hope you enjoyed the broadcast. You have been listening to a message from the Greater Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church where we are reaching the world for Christ. Located at 2135 Jefferson Avenue Southwest, Birmingham, Alabama, 35211. For a copy of this message, you can reach us at 205-925-9750 or 9751, or visit us on the web at www.greatershiloh.org. For another uplifting message, we invite you to join us for our next broadcast.