This is Christian Lifestyle. The gate to life is too small and that gate or door is the Lord Jesus, as He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Key verses: Luke 13:24, Strive to enter in at the strait gate, for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
Matthew 11:12 "And from the days of John the Baptist, until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
Challenge: How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; ...? Heb. 2:3, This verse speaks of salvation as a very serious matter that requires taking it by force to enter the small gate as few there be that find it. We had no choice as it gives us the guarantee of the assurance of entering the gate (JESUS) that leadeth to an abundant life. Think about it!
Introduction: The gate or door to life is too small. Jesus said, "I am the door, by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved" John 10:9 The gate and the door are synonymous, as they both refer to Jesus. He is said to be s small gate because He excludes all other gates. Mankind has devised thousands of religions and of ways to be saved. But Jesus is the only way to true salvation on which is difficult because there are many obstacles to stop anyone from being converted. We must stay on the narrow way to find the small gate which leadeth and open the small gate unto an abundant life.
II. Message: Here are three verses of Scripture that show us different sides of the seriousness that leads to real salvation or freshness of life.
1. The seriousness of this salvation requires taking it by force. In Matt. 11:12,"And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. " The kingdom of heaven is being forced, stormed, taken by violent men taking it by force. Give me Jesus or else I die.
a) Those who are committed wholeheartedly press into it. that is, they violently want to come in. There is a need of urgency or note of need and desperation.
b) men and women who are desperate for salvation 'violently want to come in' to full salvation in Christ. They are not lazy wishes or cold endeavors (trying hard) that will bring men to heaven.
c) Those who have received the Spirit & in truth have a violent anxiety to be saved and they know that seeking to enter in is not enough, for many seek to enter in but shall not be able and therefore they do strive with all their might.
d) We have enemies within, enemies without, enemies beneath, enemies on every side of the world, the flesh and the devil. Those who would be saved must be violent, because of the opposition he encounters.
e) Are we violently serious about finding salvation in Christ? Or do we only have a sick & tired and cold attempt?
e-1) Many of us wish to be saved, but our wishes are indeed sick and tired. A sin of not doing good.
e-2) We wish to be saved without violent desperation to force us to do all prescribed Bible readings.
e-3) when the sermon is preached, we let it pass over our head without violently desperately forcing our mind to think about the sermon deeply but there's a force to sleep.
e-4) And we seldom pray for our own salvation. There is no desperate pleading God to conversion.
e-5) A feeling within ourselves that we must have Christ or perish in the attempt. Some went through a snowstorm of life to hear the sermon that converted them.
2.) The seriousness of this salvation requires pressing into it (Luke 16:16). "The law and the prophets were until John, since that time the kingdom of God is preached and every man presseth into it.
a) presseth - is the same as the word translated "violence" or is translated "entereth violently" and as is forcibly the way entering into it.
b) If we have never earnestly sought after Christ, then we come to church and listen listless (spiritless) to the sermon, therefore no sense of urgency that we feel.
c) we are like a man in bed who hears his neighbor screaming. Fire! Fire! But we turn over on our bed and go back to sleep. The flames are leaping up in another part of the house and are steadily making their way toward your bedroom, so soon engulfed in a mountain of fire.
d) but we are drowsy and sleep on. This is the way a lost person acts, sleeping on, even in church. Sleeping on, even as the flames of Hell lick at your shoes.
e) In Eph. 5:14, "Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light" Awaken and press into the kingdom of God!
f-1) The gates of Heaven are clogged with massive crowds of people. And he that would enter must press, and elbow push, or he can go away certain that he can never enter.
f-2) We must either get serious about pressing our way into salvation - or we will go to hell while we sleep on! awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead." This brings us to the third passage concerning seriousness that leads to salvation.
3. The serious of this salvation requires that you strive to enter in and shall not be able.
a) the two most important words here are strive and seek. Strive means "to struggle", to labor strongly and fervently. Seek means "to desire, to enquire about"
b) Now this makes it clear: The person who wants to be saved and asks questions about salvation won't get saved! Only the person who struggles and works to find salvation will find it.
c) Bible says in Phil. 2:12, "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Work out means continue to work until it is completed or until something happened.
d) If we don't struggle, and continue to struggle, to enter salvation, we will never get truly converted. the only people who find it are those who are dead serious and work hard. We must take it by force. We must press into it. Must struggle with all our might to enter. "The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. (Matt. 11:12)
III. Conclusion:
When we come to Christ and are converted, we have entered the small gate and have stayed on the narrow road that leads to Salvation in Him. We stayed on that way until we found life in Him. This verse ends by telling us, Matt. 7:13-14, "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. Meaning, few there be that find an abundant life. The only one who were saved are those who follow the narrow and difficult road until they enter the "small" gate of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
TO GOD BE THE GLORY!
Thumbnail Photo by Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash