Strive To Enter Through The Narrow Door

So one of the things that is often noted about our church, either by people, by you guys who are normally here, or by visitors, is it goes by different terms. Sometimes it's seriousness or weightiness, heavy. Sometimes it goes by other words. And I want to talk a little bit about why people, or even you, might have that perception. of the work or the ministry of this church. Our goal as a church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. That's why we're here. We don't serve any other purpose. We're not here to get rich. We're not here to gain a name. We're here to make disciples of Jesus Christ. And the reason that that work is so important is because heaven and hell hang in the balance of it. And so as we approach our work as pastors, as elders, as Titus II women, We approach that work understanding how important it is. That it's not take it or leave it. It's for you to decide and you to choose. We don't come to the work with that sort of disposition because we realize that we don't want to see anyone come fall short of the grace of God. And so we understand that for people to come to Jesus Christ and for them to be made into disciples, there's a lot of discipline that attends that work.

And if you've ever been disciplined in whatever form it's taken, whether that was in your home, that was on a sports team, that was in school, if you've ever been disciplined, when you hear, when was I disciplined? And you think, there was that time. You'll remember that it was not comfortable. And one of the things that's often thought of by those who are being disciplined is that it's too severe. That's always what we're taught to think. That's always what we're inclined to think, I should say. And Scripture tells us not to faint when we're disciplined. Which is to do what? Well, it's to think that it's too much. It's to think that it's too heavy. It's more than we can bear. And yet the goal is that we would be made into disciples of Jesus Christ. And so with that discipline, I hope, as you think back into your experience or your life, Where you think, I was disciplined there. I hope that what attends that thought, in addition to it being difficult, was that those who disciplined me loved me. Yes, it was hard. Yes, it was painful even. But they loved me. And that's our intention as well. It's not simply to be hard and calloused, but tender and careful as we discipline. And so we don't make any bones about the seriousness of the need for repentance, even among God's people.

Each one of us needs to repent, whether it's for the first time or the hundredth time. And each one of us faces the temptation to turn away. And so we're about the work of making disciples, continuing to press on toward the goal, toward our upward call in Jesus Christ. And so it's not always comfortable. It's not always easy. And yet it is always good and it is always profitable. The other thing I'll tell you is that discipline is a shoe that fits all. There's no one here, including me, who isn't disciplined. I've had, whether it's the elders coming to me and talking to me about something, whether it's my wife coming to me, or whether it's you sending me emails or talking to me about something I've said or done. I'm the recipient, the benefactor of your discipline. And I'm thankful for it. It's not fun. I don't like it any more than you do. But I've always found it to be helpful. And so I encourage you to bear up under it.

and to not spurn it and not despise it. Now, why do I say all of that? Well, because there's a common temptation for all of us to stiffen our necks at it. But I also say it because as I'm preaching through the Gospel of Luke, I keep waiting. I feel like we're swimming underwater and holding our breath. And you know how when you swim underwater, your heart starts to beat real hard? And you keep going, air, I want some air. I'd like some relief. And that's what the sermons have been feeling like to me as I prepare. And as I preach, I go, this is difficult stuff. Where's the break? Where's the breather? Where's it come up? And yet, my head hasn't broken the surface yet. I haven't found it yet where I go, oh, this will be the easy week. Air. Relief. I haven't found it yet. And so I tell you this at the beginning. It's my way of saying Jesus is still disciplining his disciples.

He's still instructing them. He's still correcting the crowds that are following him and instructing them in the way of righteousness. And so if it was sufficient for them, and it seemed good to the Lord to approach his people this way during his earthly ministry, then I want us as well to submit to that yoke. Because his yoke's not burdensome. Our sermon text this morning is Luke 13, verses 23-30. Would you please stand? for the reading of God's Word. I do not know where you are from. Then you will begin to say, we ate and drank in your presence and you taught in our streets. And he will say, I tell you, I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers. In that place, 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, but yourselves being thrown out.

And they will come from east and west, and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last. This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. So our text starts out with Jesus being asked a question by someone. And it's difficult to know what the context of the question is, whether it's a sincere question, whether it's a softball for him to hit out of the park, you know. or whether it's a temptation or an accusation, we can't really tell what the tone of the question is. But the question is, Lord, are there just a few who are going to be saved? And the first thing I want us to see about this question is one that it's a general question, as opposed to a specific or a personal question. It's a question about the masses. If you contrast this question,

with the question that comes at the end of Peter's sermon in Acts. After he preaches, he says, this Jesus is the one whom you've crucified. And he's speaking to the Jews after the resurrection, after the ascension. And it says that they were cut to the quick. And they came to them and they said, brethren, what shall we do? It's a similar question. It's a question about salvation, who's going to be saved. But one of them is a general question. Are there going to be many who are saved? And the other one is a personal question. Brethren, what must we do? And so the concern is different. One is just a curious question. Are a lot going to be saved or are a few going to be saved? The other one is, what must I do to be saved? What must I do to be saved? Now as we begin our text this morning, I want you to consider which one of those questions is more palatable to you. Which one would you think to ask? What do I have to do to be saved versus...

will there be many or will there be few? If I get you to think about it, you'll do what Luis did, which is say, yeah, I think my soul's important. I'm going to ask about me. But I think if you just were going about your daily life, or if you saw someone living their life, you'd be more inclined to think about them and not yourselves. I was talking to a pastor this last week on the phone about a very difficult situation going on in his church. There's division in his church. There's slander and gossip going on. And he kept being sure to say, but I think that she's a Christian. I don't question her salvation, even though she's behaving in this way. And I just said to him at one point, I said, I understand, you know, we all do this. We always are making judgments about other people's salvation. And I just said to him, I said, you know, I don't spend much time thinking about that as a pastor, about whether someone's saved or not. Does that seem strange to you? Now, is that because it's not important about whether they're saved? No. I just got done saying that the reason that there are rough edges to things that go on at our church is because that very thing is so important. But I want you to see that in our society and in our own hearts, we put too much stock.

in the simple answer to the question, am I saved? And we say, oh, I'm saved, so there's nothing more to worry about there. Never mind my life, never mind my witness, never mind my obedience or my disobedience or any of that, I'm saved. And that's not a helpful thought, especially when with reference to sin and whether we're going into it and whether we're giving ourselves to it. There shouldn't be a comfort in saying, I can go and give myself into sin because I'm saved. Shall we sin because we are no longer under the law but under grace? This is what Paul writes in Romans 6 that we just read. Shall we sin because we are no longer under the law but grace? He says, no, may it never be. And yet we're very quick to answer for ourselves that we're saved. And we're very quick to answer for other people, well, I don't know about them. Our concern ought to be first to ourselves, to look to ourselves.

How many of you have heard of Paul Washer? He's a pastor, and he preaches. And there's this concern about his preaching. And everyone jokes about it. And you know what the joke is about Paul Washer's preaching? Does anyone know? That if you listen to Paul Washer's preaching, he'll make you wonder whether you're a Christian or not. And people joke about it. And they're like, well, that's not the point of preaching. What a silly thing for the pastor to say. That he would preach in such a way that you might think about yourself and the condition of your own soul. And yet, isn't that the point? So which is the better question? The one in our text, Lord, are there just a few who are being saved? Or brethren, what shall we do? The better question is the second question. What shall we do? What should I do? Now, am I saying you can't have assurance and you should always be wondering about whether you're a Christian? No, I'm not saying that. I'm not saying that. What I am saying, though, is that your heart,

And your soul is always looking to go astray. And because of that, you have to always attend to it. If you had a dog and you had a fence in your backyard, and it was very important that the dog stay in the yard, what would you do? You would attend to the fence. You'd make sure that he couldn't dig under it. You'd pay attention to where the dog likes to run back and forth along the fence. Where does he spend his time? Where is he likely to get out? And you'd focus your attention there. You wouldn't say, oh, he's in our backyard. It's okay. He wants to be here. He likes to be here. You'd give your attention to keeping your dog in the yard. And if you do that with your dog, how much more so your own soul? Our question should not be first about other people. It should be about ourselves. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9.26, he's using the analogy of sport.

And he talks about running and he talks about boxing and he talks about fighting. And then he says, listen to this, and listen especially to what he says at the end. He says, therefore I run. Now he's an apostle, right? Therefore I run in such a way as not without aim. I box in such a way as not beating the air, but I discipline my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be what? Disqualified. Now what does it mean for him to be disqualified? Well, it can't mean that he would go to hell. And I say it can't. I think it does. I think hypocrisy is a real thing. I think that we can attend to all kinds of stuff. Paul, as an apostle, his work, the thing that he's to attend to is the proclamation of the gospel. And yet here he is, the one who's wrote in the majority of the New Testament. He has concern for his own soul. So that after I preach to others, I myself will not be disqualified. He looks to his own soul. He looks to its care. And before, he looks to others.

And yet doesn't our temptation lie in the other direction, to take for granted our own salvation and look with question on others? For others, it ought to be the other way, that we would look to our own souls, to their tending and to their care, that they would be planted in rich soil with room and space to grow, being cultivated toward holiness, not simply, it's in the yard and it's good enough. I hope it doesn't jump the fence. So Jesus has asked the question, Lord, are there just a few who are being saved? And he doesn't answer it. You read the text, he doesn't say, yes, there will only be a few. And it means you and you and you, but not the rest of you. What he does is he responds with a parable of sorts, with instruction. And he addresses them personally. If he were to say, There will be many who will be saved, but a few won't make the cut. He's answered their question in kind. He hasn't answered about them. He's only answered to them. But that's not how he answers. He immediately begins to talk to them about what their responsibility is, what they must do. He tells them, I tell you, many will seek to enter and will not be able. And so what he does is he sets in contrast here two things. What are the two things that are set in contrast? One,

is striving, and what's it set across from? Seeking. Some will strive to enter through the door, and some will only seek to enter through the door. And the ones who strive, they'll gain access, but the ones who seek, they won't. Now, striving and seeking are not mutually exclusive things, meaning they don't exist as always and entirely opposed to one another. Can you seek in such a way that you're striving? Yes. Can you seek in such a way that you're not striving? Yes. And that's what's being contrasted here. Seeking in a way that is reaching towards and forwards with effort and with labor versus just trying to find the door and waltz on through it. There was a time in my life where I was encouraged to, early on as a Christian, to go through the New Testament and find every passage that had to do with seeking God and to memorize it.

And so one of the ones that came up was Acts 17.27. And this is Paul teaching and preaching in the Areopagus. And he's speaking, and here's what he says to them. When he's speaking to these Gentiles, he says that they would seek after God, if perhaps they might grope for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. And the word grope in that passage has always stuck out to me because it's not a word we use for one, and it's a very negative word if we do use it. And yet here, the most accurate translation of how we are to seek out God is by groping for him, searching for him, in earnest, with effort. You imagine being in a dark room, pitch black, and it's filling up with poison gas.

And there's a door. And you have to find it. How would you seek for that door? You'd search high and you'd search low. And you'd crawl around and you'd jump up. And you'd do your best to orient yourself in that room and try to figure out where that door was. You would grope for it. You would strive to find it. And this is how we're enjoined, called, to seek after God. We're to strive to enter through the narrow door. We're to grope for him if we might find him. We're to give effort to it. And to many of us, we go, yeah, I know, Dave. I know we got to give effort to finding God. Like it's important work and we need to do it. And I say, okay, is striving evident? Is it visible? Can you see when someone is striving to accomplish something? Yes, you can. It bears fruit.

Paul says, I discipline my body in such a way as to make it a slave. And he's speaking with reference to righteousness, but in the context of athletes. Can you tell the athlete to strive, to excel? Yes, you absolutely can. It shows in their bodies. It shows in the way that they move. It shows in the way that they compete. They know how to respond in the moment to what's going on around them because they've practiced for it. The same is true with regard to our souls. If we strive to enter through the narrow door, it will be evident. It will bear fruit in our lives that we are making that our end, that we are pursuing the Lord Jesus Christ. What else does striving produce beyond the marks of it? Well, it produces strength. It's like exercise. The more you exercise, the...

the greater your capacity for it becomes. If I had to go run right now, I'd be out of wind before I got to the front door. I probably can make it to that one, but not the next one. Some of you run, like to run, certainly run more than I do. And you could make it further. Some of you less. But all of us could learn to run farther and faster, to become stronger. And so striving produces strength. It produces maturity and wisdom. You know what's coming. You know how to respond or react. In real time, I suppose we react. We don't respond. And yet many that Jesus is speaking to have contented themselves with seeking. They seek the kingdom of God, but they don't strive for it. They wander around looking for it, but they will not find it. So what does seeking look like? You have in our text, you have the seekers coming to the house.

And you have the door shut. They've sought out the door and they found the door, right? The problem is the door is closed. And so they bang on the door. Lord, open up to us. Note that they call him Lord. He'll answer and say, I don't know where you're from. And then they begin to reason. They begin to describe their seeking. And they say, Lord, we ate and drank in your presence. And you taught in our streets. These are not people who are unfamiliar with Jesus Christ. You follow. We ate in your presence. Quite literally. Welcomed to your table. We've eaten in your presence. And yet Jesus says, depart from me for I do not know you. You've taught in our streets. Do you attend to the teaching of God's word? Have you heard it? Do you know it? Is it familiar to you? Yes. Are these things sufficient?

To be saved. No. Being a member of a church does not save you. Being in church every Sunday does not save you. Partaking of the Lord's Supper does not save you. Jesus doesn't respond to them and say, oh, you're right. You've been here before and I've welcomed you in. Guard, open the door. He doubles down and he says the same thing again. I do not know where you are from. And then he says, depart from me, you who, all you evildoers. They're turned away, not because of where they had spent their time, but because of what they had done. Depart from me, all you evildoers. And so one of the things we learn that's most simple about this text is that evildoers attend to the worship of God. Evildoers break bread with Jesus. Evildoers sit under his teaching. And how many of us, if we were honest, are sitting here thinking about who the evildoers are, but not ourselves.

You see how easily our minds are let off into thinking of other people and their concern for their soul, but to the neglect of our own. It can't be that way. Have you ever refused to open your door to somebody knocking on it? I bet most of us have in some capacity. Maybe it's a salesman. Maybe it's a Mormon. Maybe it's a Jehovah's Witness. Maybe it's your in-laws. I don't know who it is. But we've all at least had the inclination to go, I don't want to open the door. I don't want them in here. And so what do you do? You see them coming up. You even see commercials about joking. Oh, I thought you were coming next week. We all have this in us that there are people we don't want in our house. And so if they show up unannounced and they're surprised and they're coming to knock on your door, what's the temptation? Turn off all lights. Everyone be quiet. We'll act like we're not home.

Well, why? Because there's only two other choices. One is to open the door, and the other is to tell them to go away. And so you choose the path of least offense. We'll just act like we're not here and hope they go away. But that's not the context of the door being shut here. Many come in. Many come to the house. And yet at some point, the master stands up and he closes the door. And those who've attended already, who've come in, who were prepared, think of the virgins. with the oil. Those who are prepared, they're in. And those who are not prepared are coming. But he's barred the door. And there's no silence on the inside and there's no lights turning off. You know who's inside and you know what's going on and you want to be there and yet your desire is refused because of what you've done. To try to flesh this out a little bit more, you think of going to a concert or a Pacers game or something like that.

Not anyone can just walk into those places, right? Well, anyone can walk in if they have a ticket. You've got to have a ticket. And if you try to get in and you don't have a ticket, all of a sudden these shadows that kind of just stand off to the side and you don't really notice them, all of a sudden they appear and they're big men. And they say, you are welcome here. Go away. Get out of the way so the people who do belong here can get in. A bouncer stands guard at the door to keep out everyone who doesn't belong, who doesn't have a ticket. Think back to your own house and wanting to keep people out of it. They keep knocking. We know you're in there. Let us in. Then you say to them, go away. You're not welcome here. But we love you. Go away. Sound like fun? What's the one thing worse than being the guy saying go away? Being the one that hears it. Being the one told to go away.

So we learn from our text that there's going to come a time when Jesus Christ is going to shut the door. And those who haven't gained access already won't have time to gain access anymore. But I'm saved. Good. Persevere to the end because he's the one who will be saved. Bear the fruit of salvation. What does it mean for the head of the house to shut the door? Well, it means that he has the key, not us. That we don't come and go as we please. In and out of God's kingdom. We may come to the door of our own volition, but we will not enter in apart from him granting us access. He owns the right to welcome or to curse whomever he pleases. And we don't possess the key or the ability to force our way in, no matter how much we believe ourselves deserving. Another way of describing this would be to talk about presumption. What did those who were kept out do? Well, they presumed that there was a place at the table for them.

They presumed, we're going to get in. When it's all said and done, we're going to get in. I'm going to be fine. And yet, think for a moment about when you sin. And you sin in the full knowledge that it's sin. You've prepared for it. You've looked forward to it. You woke up thinking about it. You tried to get away so you could have time for it. It's not a sin of passion. It's premeditated. You intended it. You've prepared the opportunity for it. What are you confessing to be true when you do that? You're confessing what you're saying. I believe I have the ability to do whatever I want now and still enter in when I choose. Some of you like country music, and you know the song by Kenny Chesney called Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven? I know this song. Taylor, I know, knows this song. What's the next line? Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to go now.

And then the song goes on to enumerate all of the pleasures of sin that we enjoy on earth. And that someday we'll give attention to our souls. And someday we'll give attention to holiness. But not now. Today is a day of lust. This is what it means to presume salvation. To sin in the knowledge of it being sin. And at the same time to believe that it won't have any bearing on your soul. that it doesn't tell you anything about the condition of your soul. And yet there will come a time when the door will be bolted shut. And every one of us thinks, well, I'll get in before the door is shut. And I say, it's a lie from hell. You deceive yourself. I was just talking to one of my sons yesterday about wearing a seatbelt. And he said, why didn't I wear my seatbelt? Because we were just going to the gas station. It's just right up the street. And I said, honey.

The reason you have to wear your seatbelt is because we don't get to choose when we get in a car accident. If it were up to us, we would never get in a car accident. And yet we all get in car accidents. And the seatbelt's there as a protection for you. And when the unexpected happens, when you make an error or someone else does, that's the whole point. You don't get to choose. Dangers are coming. Time to get into the stronghold and get away from the danger. No, the danger will come upon you unannounced. It'll overtake you before you know what's going on. And it'll occasion your death. So there's a day when the door will be closed. Now, when we think of the door being closed, you think, okay, well, that means either when I die or when Jesus returns. And those are both proper applications. But I'd have you know that the door can be closed before you die. Closed to you. In Hebrews chapter 12, we read of Esau. When the Hebrews are exhorted in this way.

See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God, that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled. See to it that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected. For he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears. So what do we learn from Esau with regard to the door? That his sin, seemingly small and insignificant, of no mind to him, selling his birthright because he was hungry, that when he wanted the blessing of his father and he's pleading with him, do you not have another blessing, father? His father says to him, no, I have but one and I've given it to your brother Jacob. I have a curse for you. And yet he was still alive and still young and lived many more years.

But the door had been bolted to him. And when he sought for repentance later, when he said, I'll straighten up later, I'll get right later, he wasn't in control of that. He sought it with tears, and the answer was no. And he was given to us as an example for the benefit of our own souls, for our instruction, so that we might not follow in his path. In that place, there'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And you'll see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God reclining there. And yet you won't be there. Those who delay, those who stay back, those who think it's all taken care of without the effort required. You say, I'm saved by my works. Nope, that's not what I'm saying. Not at all. Not at all. What I'm saying is that if you had a bear chasing you, you can know two things. I know two things. One, a bear is faster than you. And two, you will still run from it. But you cannot run a bear, so why even try? And I go, because you really hope you can.

And it'll be God's grace to you if you do. And that's the way salvation works. You striving to enter through the narrow door doesn't earn you salvation. It indicates that God's put a desire in your heart that's contrary to your nature to be saved. So what about the application? There's one application. There's a couple of examples. One, the application is very simple. Striving, effort, labor. is necessary to enter the kingdom of God. Those who don't strive will not enter. They will not. Matthew Henry says on this text, the reason why so many come short of grace and glory is because they rest in a lazy seeking of that which will not be attained without laborious striving. They have a good mind to happiness and a good opinion of holiness and take some good steps towards both, but their convictions are weak.

They do not consider what they know and believe. And consequently, their desires are cold and their endeavors feeble. And there is no strength or steadiness in their resolutions. And thus, they come short and lose the prize because they do not press forward. Just before the account of Esau in Hebrews, we read that you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your what? Your striving against sin. What's the point? There's always more that can be fought against, always more that must be fought against. Have you striven? Praise God. It's his kindness to you that you have. Continue more so to strive, to enter through the narrow door. There are many seekers, but we must be strivers. Being here, sitting under the preaching of God's word, taking communion, being a member of a church your whole life, those things will not save you apart from striving to present yourself.

holy before God. The final thing I'll tell you about striving is that it means you will be quite different from your peers. To be a Christian is to be distinct from the world. Friendship with the world is enmity with God. And so if you desire or want to be a Christian, and yet you aren't willing to break rank with the world, you can't do both. To be a Christian is to be holy. It means to be called out. It means to be different. It means not going along with those around you, but rather striving to serve Christ and nothing else. Not the praise of man. Not comfort. Not wealth. Not your own pride in what you think of yourself. I'm better than such and such. Maybe in your eyes. But Jesus ends this by saying, many who were first shall become last.

And so don't put too much stock in your account of where you fall in the roll call, first or last. Because you'll always end up thinking that you're better than them. I'm better than them. I'm higher than them. I'm more holy than them. I'm a better Christian than them. And what does Jesus say? Many who were first shall be last. What you think of yourself in reference to one another or to other people doesn't get you into heaven. Your opinion of yourself doesn't matter. What matters is striving. to serve Jesus Christ, to honor and to glorify him, to do his will in your heart, in your life, in your home, in your marriage, with your children, in your workplace, in your community. That's what matters. And you say, well, no one else, you know, I feel like I'm the only person who thinks these things. You might be. Is what you think glorifying to God? Is what you believe true? If it is, then don't be ashamed of it. A simple way to say this is that Christians aren't cool. They're holy.

And generally, in our culture, such as it is, holiness and coolness don't run the same direction. That's okay. It's okay. You don't have to be cool. We'll love you. I love you. Even if other people don't. And where you may be slandered or you may be scorned or you may be mocked or laughed at, you won't find that here. While there may be... difficult things to hear and hard things to hear, things that cut us, things that upset us or discourage us. The other thing that we seek to do at this church is to love them, love you, to love the people who are here, to bear with them. Because none of us wants to have our sin exposed. None of us wants to have people know who we are and what we've done and what we're like. And yet, what a grace from God that we can be around other people who don't shun us when they see who we are.

but that love Jesus Christ and in turn love us and can bear with us in the muck and the mire and can help us up out of it, helping us to strive to enter through the narrow door, not turning ourselves away because we're not perfect. So what happens when other people see you striving? Well, they ridicule you, they mock you, they make fun of you. That's what happens. It's enough for us to become like our master, Jesus Christ, and is that not what happened to him? Should we have a different expectation for our lives? That while he was mocked and scorned and beaten and ultimately put to death, we should have a life in pursuit of him that produces ease and comfort and life without struggle. That doesn't follow. And so when people see the differences, they see you striving. They pay attention to how you speak. They pay attention to how you dress. They pay attention to how you behave.

The things you're willing to talk about, the things you aren't willing to talk about, the things that you believe would be good for our nation versus the things that are destructive toward it. They see the difference. And yet it may well become attractive to them when they suffer under the consequence of their rebellion. More than once I've had that be the case, where in the moment it's like, oh, you're stupid, Dave. You don't know what you're talking about. Okay. I'm not telling you from ignorance. I lived a good bit of my life doing what I wanted. And I had both hands full of the consequences of it.

And I don't want you to go down the same path. But if you do, you'll see that it doesn't end well. Nor does it have to stay that way. And so I've had both responses. I've had people despise me, hate me, think I'm whatever. And then later go, I think you might have a clue about something. Because I'm pretty miserable and you don't seem to be. And that is the kindness of God to you and to those who see you. To strive to enter through the narrow door. Don't be afraid of the consequences of it because you want to be inside, not outside in the end. You don't want to be standing at the door calling out to the Lord, Jesus, let me in, please, please, please. And the answer be, go away. I don't know you. Let's pray.