So today we're going to start a little lighter than I normally do and I want to tell you a little story. Now, 15 years ago, a bunch of us young people went down (young then) we went down to Atlantic City for dinner and on the way home one nameless volunteer confidently offered to drive us home. So about 1:00 in the morning we find ourselves going over the Ben Franklin Bridge into Philadelphia. No problem, going the wrong way, let’s just turn ourselves around. So we head back in the other direction and a few hours later we're looking around again and we found ourselves in the same spot. Oh no! I think that the sun was already starting to come up that night by the time we got home, believe it or not. So what's the moral of the story? Make sure that you're on the right road. Amen?

The consequences of that night were probably some tiredness the next day, but the Bible warns of far greater consequences when you find yourself on the wrong spiritual path. God is wanting us to take a look today about what road we are on. You see, today the topic is going to be the narrow and the wide road. The Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter 7 is ending his Sermon on the Mount - the most important sermon that He ever preached to teach about what Christian living was really going to be like. And there He said to the people, He's making a delineation, and He told them, “There are two paths that you can take in this life. There are two roads that you can find yourself on.” That's true this day for all of us. There's always two in the Bible. Two roads, two gates, two people, two destinies, two trees in the beginning, two types of fruit. There are always two. And God this day is trying to make a mark in the sand, to make a delineation of those who belong to Him and then those who walk in the world. It is the age-old fight of light and darkness, of evil against the goodness of God. And so today we understand that there is a line of demarcation.

Sometimes we don't like to live in the black and white, but the Lord Jesus Christ is. And He has come today to draw a line right down the center, to say there is a way of life; it is found in the Lord Jesus Christ and there is also a road that leads to destruction. We must take a choice - We will make a stand this day for ourselves and for our families of which road we will take. No longer trying to straddle the middle. Trying to have one foot in and one foot out, but we will make a choice because it impacts our life today and for our lives for eternity. So please turn your Bibles to the scripture that we will be studying today. It is Matthew 7:13-14. This is going to be our main scripture. We're going to remain here and see what the Lord is trying to teach us. Matthew 7 - “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only few find it.”

There are two roads my friends, and God is making the distinction of which one you are on this day. God throughout history has always made a distinction of those who are His. And this day we remember the Israelites who were living in Egypt when God brought down the Ten Plagues. Many of those plagues did not hit the land of Goshen where the Israelites were living, because God was claiming to the world, “They are My people. They are the sheep of My pasture, and My strong right arm will protect them always.” When you belong to God - when you put yourself in the House of the Lord, when you belong to His family, He will move mountains for you. He will be on your side.

We can picture these two gates, can't we? We can imagine the wide gate, maybe it's made of stone, built up high. And so we can imagine the lights that are shining on it to light the way, and there's crowds of people walking to and from. This is the busy gate. And the other gate, on the other hand, is unassuming. Maybe it's a wooden gate, maybe it creaks, maybe it is shabby-looking. It is the one that is lonely and if you are not careful you might just walk right past it. There are many that pass by the narrow road and that means that many in churches today have also walked passed it. What are we missing? What have we missed? How are we all - how are many in today's churches going down the wrong road?

So today I want to understand from the scripture how we can tell which road we are on and what are the markers of the Christian life that we can be looking for. Hallelujah, the Holy Spirit is marking those who belong to Him with the fruit of heaven. Pastor has said that there is an invasion of heaven down to the earth and He is marking His children with the fruit that is of heaven, that there would be no mistake of those who are on the right road. So first we must find the narrow gate. We must find it because it is hard to see.

Now, back in college I had the opportunity of living up North for a little while. Some of you are from there or some of you have been able to drive there. But the one thing about North Jersey is that it is very different driving than here. We know that there are signs and there are crystal clear signs about where you can go, and the traffic is congested, the highways move faster, but I really appreciate the signage that's there. For me, I was going to the Meadowlands complex. “Oh, two miles ahead, make a right. Newark Airport right ahead of you, turn left. The Lincoln Tunnel is headed up five miles, two miles, turn now” There was clarity in that, and maybe not for South Jersey - and maybe that's why our driver had gotten lost.

"...nobody is willing to say that they've gone their own way from the Lord."

Spiritually speaking everybody thinks they're on the right road, and today we really have to discover why and how there could be any confusion. The reality is nobody is willing to say that they've gone their own way from the Lord. But the Bible warns of times like we're seeing today, where it will be difficult to find sound doctrine, where people will be going to churches where there is no conviction; no sin is going to be preached, no repentance, and the need for coming to God and repenting for the way we live our lives is going to be taught. We know that people shop around looking for churches where they can go to hear what their itching ears want to hear. And what do the ears want to hear? What is it that people really genuinely want to hear is that - “It's okay. You know, you don't have to be convicted. You don't have to apologize. You're doing okay. You're just doing your best.” But the Lord makes a line, because He wants to live His life in you. For the Son of God, He is perfect, and He lives inside of those who receive Him, hallelujah.

So where does that leave us? In a place where it's so hard to find out where to go and what the right road is. But we must break through all of the noise. There's so many voices that try to tell you what is right and what is wrong, how you're going to live your life, and it's so influential, especially on our young people with social media. They are inundated with pictures of people and how they live their life and, should they be working on their bodies, or they should they be working on - you know - their dream job, or should we be focusing all of our time to spend on our savings accounts, and trying to see how we can, you know, invest in our future. There's so many voices out there and we need to break through the noise to find out what's important. God is looking for us to be on the road of life; the abundant life that Jesus has called us to, and to know now on this earth, to have assurance of that fact, that we will meet God in heaven. To know with certainty that you're gonna live with Him forever.

The Word of God is recrafted by so many to meet the worldly perspectives, the ideologies that are out there and popular at the time. They're changing the Word of God to fit whatever they want it to say. It's easily done, and we need the Holy Spirit to bring out the truth of the Word of God - That we are supposed to live holy and pleasing lives unto Him. We don't need new translations, we don't need new interpretations of the Bible my friend, we need the willing hearts.

God is looking to and fro the earth, and even in this place today of those who would genuinely be looking for God. When you have that genuineness in your heart, you will find your way to the gate that is narrow, the right gate of eternal life. It's not coming up - it's not about coming up to the altar and receiving the Lord in one prayer. We know that when we receive the Lord, it's about a lifelong journey with Him, Him teaching us and us overcoming through the power of the Holy Spirit the things that used to hold us back from Him. It is about a journey, my friends. Have you begun that journey with God? Have you decided that you're not turning back? Is there another choice for you or is your face like flint following the Lord no matter what comes, no matter what challenges, what obstacles may come, no matter what Satan tries to say to you - to know that He is the way. He is the life. Eternity is found in Him alone!

Now God does put those signs in our life. He does bring the signage so that we will not lose our way. And it is found in the Holy Spirit, who God sends as an advocate and a messenger to tell you when you are going the wrong way. Do you have ears to hear the Lord trying to guide you, tugging at your heart that maybe the thought was wrong or the action was wrong? Does the Lord have the ability to warn you that you're on the wrong path? Can He change your steps? Does He have the ability to speak clearly in our lives? Just as we would heed the sign of a broken bridge ahead of us, that's how we must heed the warning of the Holy Spirit. We can just imagine it even driving on the road; “Closed bridge five miles ahead. Choose another course. The bridge is closed. Warning of death if you continue down this road.” Those signs are there in life and nobody would ignore them. Nobody in their right mind would ignore them. And so has the Holy Spirit been urging you to watch where your feet tread. To watch what your eyes see. To watch what your ears are listening to. To judge with sober-mindedness according to the Word of God if we are right with Him. Heed, heed, heed the warning of the Holy Spirit and you will live.

The gate or the road to destruction is easily identified with the right heart. We know that many like to walk that road. It is constantly, vastly traveled because it is enticing. It promises success to people, accolades, attaboys, pats on the back. People want credit. And in Christianity, the only One who really receives the glory and the honor and the praise is the One who deserves it, and His name is Jesus. Those on the wide road - it appeals to them because they get to self-direct their lives. They want to be their own master, they want to make their own decisions, they want to be independent and answer to no one. This is the way the world lives. We are all familiar; We once lived in that way. But we must leave that old path behind and submit to the lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is salvation. It is not just about a prayer, a moment of emotionalism with God - just a moment of just feeling the music, but it is about a decision to release ourselves unto the lordship of Jesus Christ. That He would have His will and His way with you in your life. Let Him be your master, let Him be the leader of your life.

Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” This day maybe you have gone your own way, and maybe you find yourself on the wrong road, but I say to you, “Leave the road while you still have time. Leave it behind. Run away. You can't get away fast enough.” For the road and its destruction have already been determined. The road will give out without warning, and that self-serving form of life will give out, and it will leave people alone and far from God in the path of destruction.

The self-serving way of life is not going to bring us anywhere. Many of us have already begun to see that, but yet have not made the physical change. Turn away from the life to serve the One who deserves it. The One who has loved you. The One who has laid down His life so that we could live. All the temporary benefits of the wide road, they do not lead to eternity in heaven. They do not prepare the Christian to rid the Christian of arrogance, pride, vanity, all the things that will stop you from meeting before a true and holy God. The God who is an all-consuming fire. Only those will be prepared who have chosen the narrow road - the narrow gate to enter into the tough life of taking an internal look at ourselves and being able to walk the walk of Jesus Christ. But the wide road pats on the back. It gives you the attaboy. You feel in control of your life, but I tell you, that road will give out.

Verse 14 in our verse says, “...only a few will find it.” Only a few will find it because you have to be humble to realize that you're lost. The heart of prideful man will never admit that they are lost. Wives, you know that this is true. Only the lost are going to seek the gate of God. And you have to seek it to find it, don't you? Jeremiah 29:13 “If you seek Me you will find Me, if you seek Me with all of your heart.” Hallelujah. Leave the things of the world behind, all of the earthly troubles and come in this day to that which lasts, hallelujah.

"We try to take things into our own hands constantly, but that road will never give you the true internal peace that only the Lord Jesus Christ can do."

And so we must find the gate, and secondly we must enter the gate. Enter the gate. The Lord is really clear, there's nothing confusing here. He doesn't say, “Come to the gates.” He doesn't say, “Look at the gate.” In fact He says, “Enter the gates.” Jesus, my friends, is the true gate of heaven. John 10:9 “I am the gate; and whoever enters through Me will be saved. They will come in and they will go out, and they will find pasture.” The Lord will lead you to the calm waters. The Lord will lead you to the pastures where you may be in safety and comfort. We try to take things into our own hands constantly, but that road will never give you the true internal peace that only the Lord Jesus Christ can do. He's your creator, and we always have to keep that at the forefront. The Lord wants you to come in that you may have peace and that you may have safety.

Now, He declares Himself here that He's the only way to salvation. We cannot earn our salvation on our own. In fact, according to Him, that only when we confess our sins, then we can be made right with God. It is not based on our own merit or goodness. It is not what we bring to the table. It is not us, on our best day, that can earn heaven. Only the Son of God has pleased God, for He has honored the Lord by following all, all of the commands of the Bible, and only Jesus can stand before God. Now, when we receive Him as our Lord and Savior and we see God on Judgment Day in heaven, He will want to see the Lord Jesus standing before you. Only Jesus is acceptable to God. Only Jesus has the fruit that will please God. And when we receive Him as our Lord and Savior, He impresses Himself before you to cover you and your sinful state. He covers the sin, He overshadows you, He cloaks you with His righteousness, hallelujah. It is not by our own merit that we can be saved.

If we acknowledge the sacrifice of Jesus then He is faithful to forgive and to cleanse us. There is no other path of salvation. And some of us are shaking our head like, “Yes, Pastor. Yes, Jessica, I know that. I've heard that before.” But we haven't really come to understand it in its fullness. What does Jesus being the gate really mean? Yes, He is the only way to salvation, but the most important part of that statement is “I can't get there by myself. I am in need of a savior because I need forgiveness, because I have lived offensively to God, because my actions, my thoughts, my opinions are offensive to a holy God. I need a savior to stand in front of me, to cover me, to live His life through me, because mine will be unacceptable to the Father.” And when I, I don't know about you, but for me, when I hear this, I just want to jump up and I want to say, “God, take me over. Live Your life in me! I am nothing. Let me just be a vessel! I am unclean, but You can make me clean.”

We can't get there on our own. It says “enter the gate” because we have to go through something that is not of ourselves. We are in need of a savior this day. The Bible says that we should die, and if you die with Christ, then you will also be raised with Him. But you don't raise any longer to your own self. You don't raise any more in your own thoughts and in your own ways. When you are raised from the dead, you rise up in His life, and in His fruit, and in His walk, and in His miracles, and all the things that He does to please God. You see, the life we live is the one that we live in Him and that is the life that is pleasing. Hallelujah, Heaven is invading the earth. Yes, Lord. Receive the Lord Jesus Christ even in your spirits now. Invade, invade, invade. Overtake me for I am in need of a savior. No more autonomy. No more independence. No more mastery over my life. Did you say that you needed a savior? Did you say that you wanted a king? Let Him be king in your life.

People try to reach salvation through other gates other than the one of Jesus. They try to enter in through their own deeds, and we remember this biblically, especially with the Pharisees in the Bible; they tried to enter in by following all the laws and the commands that they did and they did it publicly because they wanted to receive accolades. They wanted people to see how holy they were, how good they were, and they wanted to receive that credit and that honor. But what they missed was that the law was supposed to show us our great need for a Savior. And when we see how far we fall from the glory of God and His word, that is when somebody cries out and just says, “Lord, I need you. Would you help me? Would you rescue me from myself?”

You see, we are no different this day sometimes from the Pharisees; when we want God to give us credit for our goodness. We want Him to accept what we want to give to Him, and we want Him to call it good, and we want Him to let us go to heaven according to what we give. But God has not made a provision for that. The provision is that He would accept His son, and His son would be welcome into heaven, and you must wear Jesus. You must receive him, He must be in you as He and the Father are one, You and Jesus Christ must be one. Salvation is found in no other name. Luke 13:24, “Make every effort to enter into the narrow door, because many, I tell you, many will try to enter and they will not be able to.” Many will try to enter according to their own deeds - what they give to the Lord.

Now, I can't talk about the narrow gate without mentioning to you Pilgrim's Progress. It's a book that was written in the 1600s by John Bunyan, and this book highly influenced some of the preachers that you and I study today, like the Wesley brothers and George Whitefield. I was able to read a children's version of it, you know because of the Old English, with my son. And in it, the main character, Christian, is approaching the narrow gate. And he goes here and he reads a sign when he approaches the gate in the book. And it says, Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.” And so he comes to the door, not in arrogance, but in contrite heart. And he wonders to himself if he will be allowed to enter into the narrow gate. He thinks to himself, “Will He open to me, though I have been an undeserving rebel?” I ask you this day, what happened to this kind of humility? What happened to this kind of heart that has one of faith and repentance as we come to the Lord Jesus Christ? The one that says, “Would you take me, Lord? Would you use me? Would you be willing to receive me?” Because that is the heart.

America's churches have it so wrong when we say, “Will you receive Jesus? Will you take Him? Would you just give Him a moment of your time?” No! We are so blessed to have an opportunity - and we come before Him on our feet, begging Him to give us a new life, a clean life, a worthy life, something we could never create on our own! We are incapable of bringing anything holy to God on our own.

"...repentance is the key to entering in the gate"

So this day I say to you, repentance is the key to entering the gate, hallelujah. I think that might be a curse word in some circles, but I say to you, repentance is the key to entering in the gate. It is the opposite of justification, and justification is really when we make excuses for the things that we do wrong, and we don't receive the gift of repentance when we are justifying. And I know as well as anybody else that we can think of a thousand logical reasons for why we do the things we do. Some of them may be: the way we were raised, the circumstances regarding the situation, lack of resources, not knowing any better. But I tell you this day, when we use justifications to cover sin, there is nothing for cleansing, and there is no deliverance for when we choose to justify our actions. God can only forgive when we come to Him with confession in our hearts, when we want to come in and we see the wrong and we say that it is unworthy in God's sight and we turn away from it. We can look at that sin and say, “Lord, would You forgive me because I have done wrong in Your sight?”

When we justify and we make the excuses first, what are we really trying to do? We're really trying to say it wasn't that bad. So what kind of forgiveness can you earn for yourself when you're saying it's not really that bad? How can God save the heart that says, “I'm not really that bad. I sort of can get there myself. There sort of is another way. I don't really, fully, totally need a savior” but that is not what God has said; It is salvation wholly for the soul this day. We come to the gift - it is a gift of repentance when God shows you where we fall short of the Lord, and church that's where God is bringing us in in this season; To not be afraid to confess our sins, for if you confess your sins “He is faithful and just to forgive you of all your unrighteousness.” This is our message! This is our gospel! This is our hope! This is what we stand for! This is the joy! For I am a sinner and I am unclean, but God will receive me! Hallelujah!

He will not turn the repentful away, no matter how deep, no matter how far we have gone, God will receive the contrite in heart. He will not turn us away. Christ becomes the remedy for those things that we have truly repented and turned from this day. And I tell you, this has broken so many things even in my own life. Because when we continue with our justifications, it will always keep God an arm's length away. He can't be in the midst of unholiness. He can't be in the midst of - He's a holy God. He can't be there - But when we confess, He comes in and He is willing to break down the barriers of sin.

The narrow road is untraveled by so many because people will not part with reasoning, and therefore they have no need for a savior. But we are those who cry out, shameless before God, and we just say to the Lord, “Would you come in and save me wholly and completely?” Amen.

Now, enter the gate. And by this door, men will enter in through the Lord Jesus Christ, they will find the favor and the mercy of God. And they will live in the hope of eternal life. The purpose of a gate has two purposes, to close and to shut, or to let in and to keep out. This day would you leave your old life of sin behind and enter into the new life of eternity in Him.

So we must first find the gate. Secondly, we must enter into the gate. And finally, we must walk the narrow road. The narrow road is the one that leads to life, and when we put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ it's not a one and done thing, like so many believe, but it is about a lifelong journey of victory after victory and glory after glory in the Lord.

As a youth, we went down to the Atlantic City Rescue Mission - I think my mom has shared that in the past - and that day I was asked to sing a song to the people that the Lord had put in our hearts to share with them. And that night I was able to sing a song about a man who was lost in his journey. He was in the darkness and didn't know how to turn right from left. He was lost in his life of sin. And the Lord Jesus comes with a light to shine a light upon his life and open up his eyes to the path of eternal life. And when we sang that song to the people, they literally fell from their chairs and wept on the floor at the opportunity to know that God loves them, and He is shining light on the darkened life. He is shining a light to your feet that you would know the way and that you would no longer be lost. That your families would not be far from God, but that He would make the way for you. You are not too far from God, for He shines a light in a dark place and shows you the way of eternal life! God is bringing that light. Maybe you have lost your way, maybe you have stepped off the straight and narrow path. But the Lord is calling each and every one of us in this room today back onto the narrow path, and to show the world that we are able to walk the straight and narrow when the Lord Jesus Christ is living inside of you, you are able to do what you never thought possible when the Holy Spirit comes in you. When Christ is living inside of you, you will overcome obstacles that you've never been able to break down in your life before. He chases away diseases. He makes the mute speak again. The dead will rise. Hallelujah!

God wants to break through the barriers of this earth. God is supernatural, He is of heaven, we are of this earth, but He shows our citizenship of heaven now while we are still alive. This is the abundant life that Jesus has promised to those who would live on the narrow road, and as you're walking along the road, there are trees of the fruit of God: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, all the abundance of the Lord to feed you on your journey. You will not grow weary in doing good. You will run and not be faint! You will run the journey that God has given to you. And your faith is going to get stronger, and your armor will be heavier, and you will be able to face the giants. Whatever comes your way, the things that once held you down will not be an obstacle to you anymore. This is the lifelong journey of the narrow road.

And so to remain on this road, we need faith and obedience to keep us on. So we are reborn in the Lord Jesus Christ. So we have to break off from those unholy attachments to the world. This week on Wednesday night when we gathered together, we talked a little bit about culture. And we've got to leave that old culture behind; the things that you used to do, the things you used to say, the way that your family used to interact with each other, those things have to be gone. And we come into the citizenship of heaven to show that we are part of the Lord's family. We adopt them as our ways. Instead of panicking, calling up our friends, and calling somebody up for advice and going on Google and searching for an answer, our first response, my friends, is going to be to pray. Because we are adopting the culture of heaven; it is becoming our way of life. Leave the old culture behind and commit yourself to the Lord Jesus in all your ways, in everything that you do, in everything that you watch, in everything that you say, commit yourself to the Lord.

We must live for the kingdom of God, shifting our focus from one that is self-centered unto the kingdom of God. You know that you're part of the kingdom of God when your brother becomes your priority. And we don't walk around with undealt with sin because we care about the place that our brother is in. We do not want to hinder our brothers and sisters in Christ, so we make sure to keep those short accounts with God. We want to walk the straight and narrow for the sake of those who are underneath us, those who are maybe even younger, that are looking up to you, that want to say, “Well, if they can make it, maybe I can too.” That's the family of God, that's our responsibility to one another, and that is the evidence that we are on the road of the family of the Lord.

We seek after holiness so that we may be ready when we gather together for worship, on Sunday that we come with prepared hearts, that all week we were watching the conversations that we had in our household, we made sure that we did not get overtaken by anger, so that when we come in, the Holy Spirit can move powerfully in this place. And when we have visitors that they can come in and experience the glory of the Lord because all week we've been investing in it. The world invests in everything else - their own kingdoms - but our kingdom is here. Our kingdom is the one that's together. This kingdom is the one that cares for our brothers and sisters, and have prepared ourselves all week for the gathering of the brethren that God can move and that the miracles can happen in our midst.

Be led by the Holy Spirit, allowing the Holy Spirit to transform our lives. This is what the narrow road really looks like. Jesus, you know, as soon as He was filled with the Holy Spirit, after His baptism, went to the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And He overcame him. And this is our path to overcome and to demonstrate to the rulers, powers, and authorities daily that Christ is in you. That Jesus is in you and you are the hope to the world. There is a light in you that cannot be hidden, we take that lamp and we put it on up on a pedestal for all to see; that men would see your good deeds, brothers and sisters, that Christ lives inside of you. God must be seen to the world through us who walk around. This is the straight and narrow. This is the path of the Christian, that men would see the light that shines in you even while we are on this earth.

When we walk the narrow road, God is giving us limitless possibilities for our life, which He has already won on the cross. These things are done, and you will only continue to walk in the path that Jesus has already set for us. Let us forge the path of eternity for our brothers and sisters, let us forge the path of seeing what God can do in our community. In the age and in the generation of wickedness, how can God's hand stand and rise up in this place and be like a fire, an all-consuming fire, hallelujah, bringing holiness and passion from the people of God?

The walk is not for the feeble. We know that. We never said it was easy. We know that there will be obstacles that we are going to face, and it is not going to be for those who are weak or easily discouraged. And I think some of you know that. But this day, the reality is some of us have been struggling too much because we haven't been able to come to the point of true repentance. This day, the job of the church is to get rid of justification, because I know for me it's made all of the difference. Confess your sin before the Lord that He may be the one to be the lifter of your head. God is faithful and He is just, and He will cleanse us of all of our unrighteousness. Let us rid ourselves of the justification and be eager to confess, to repent from our old ways, and to receive the new life of Jesus Christ.