Hallelujah! So, I wanted to open up today as we kind of delve into the word a little bit. I was at a conference this week. It was down in Atlantic City. I'm sorry, last week. And it was really interesting. It was held by the FBI, I've never been to a training conference held by the FBI. And it was kind of interesting, the speakers were really good. And in between the speakers, they would have companies come up and try to pitch their ideas. So these two guys get up on stage and they just have that ‘look.’ I don't know how to explain it, but they were wearing cardigans, so it wasn't their clothes. Their clothes were not intimidating, but they just had that look in their eyes. And I'm like, man, these guys have seen some stuff. And I'm looking at them and they get up and they introduce themselves. And one guy is a Navy SEAL and the other one's a Green Beret. And they're starting this company that is based around resiliency. Now, listen, I've been to a ton of conferences and a ton of trainings about resiliency, which is like a new up-and-coming thing in law and in the military. And pretty much what it is, is it teaches people how to be a strong mind, right? They see all sorts of crazy stuff. The stress becomes a lot. So it teaches people how to have a strong mind. That way you don't kind of bow underneath the pressure. So I'm looking at these guys. I'm like, these guys are like the tip of the spear. These guys have seen some serious, serious stress. These guys are the guys you send out to go get Saddam Hussein! So if anybody knows how to handle stress, it's got to be these guys.

And one of the guys that went to the training conference liked what he had to say, so I set up a Zoom meeting with him. And he called me and he said, “Hey, you don't have to be on the video. Just throw an earbud in. You can listen to what they're kind of talking about.” Because he knows I do resiliency, I'm a resiliency instructor. I teach this stuff, so he thought I'd be interesting. So I get on and I put the earbud in. And it's in the morning. Jessica's trying to do math with Joshua. I'm trying to cook bacon on the stove, you know, but I'm trying to listen at the same time. And the guys introduced themselves. And the first guy says, “Yeah, I was a Navy SEAL. And I got hurt and had to get out of the military doing a high-altitude skydive training mission.” I'm like, wow, these guys are legit, you know. The other guy was like, “Yeah, I spent a lot of years in the military. I left. I felt called to go back, so I went and did counter-surveillance with the CIA in Kuwait.” And I'm like, okay, these guys are pretty legit, right? So they're talking and they say, “Why don't you guys introduce yourself.” So, the one guy I work with introduces himself, he says, “Yeah I'm a SWAT commander and a black belt and jujitsu.” And the guys are like, “Hoorah, you're one of us! Yes!” And I was like okay, and then I'm like thank God I'm like I don't have to do this. And they go to the next guy and like introduce yourself he's like, “I'm a SWAT commander and I'm part of this training, and I've trained this many people, and led this many successful missions.” And these guys eyes lit up and they're like, “Yes, go you! You're one of us!” And then they're like, “Ah, we see there's a Kris Burke on the thing, would you like to introduce yourself?” So now I'm nervous, I run out into my deck, I turn my video on. The second I hit the video to turn it on, I realize I am still in my pajamas and I'm wearing Spongebob pajama pants! So I'm like, ugh! They're like, “What do you do?” I said, “Listen, I'm a pastor and I deal a lot with spiritual resiliency and stuff,” and they were like, “That's…special! That's very nice.” And they kind of moved on pretty quickly from me.

You see, I didn't get the same type of response that these other guys have got. But they go through and they explain their whole product. And pretty much what it is, they assign you a life coach, and the life coach helps you through these scenarios. And I've been through the trainings. I've been through a lot of these things. So they get done. They say, “Does anybody have any questions?” And I said, “I actually do.” I said, “What are you teaching? Like, you guys are ‘the guys’, right? Because I've been through these trainings, and it's always the same thing. It's always like, you know, ‘just don't focus on what you can't control and breathing techniques.’” It's always breathing techniques for some reason, right? So these guys get on, and I'm like, “What do you teach them?” And they’re like, “Well, we give them workout plans and diet plans, and we teach them breathing techniques!” And I was like, “Ah.” It's more of the same, right? It's more of the same. As I've been part of these trainings and gone through and seen kind of some of the stuff in the world, I'm realizing more, and more, and more that this world is seeking for ways to kind of come to the same place as a Christian, but skip over the whole religion part. For a long time, our country was founded upon religious principles. People went to church! So if you had a hard time, something was stressful in your life, you were buckling under the pressure, you would turn to prayer, the church, Christ, Christ's teachings, His Word, and those things would be the things that make you resilient. And those would be the things that would make you buckle down and persevere and get through it and come out stronger. But we as a nation are now moving away from that in such a strong way that we are now introducing and inventing all these different ways to get to the same place that we used to get - just skip over the Christ part. Just skip over this Jesus thing that everybody pushes.

I see all these different methods and schemes to try to get you to look like a healed person, but skipping the religion part, taking a different path to love, joy, and peace. You see, the thing that all these people push, their thing they hang their hat on, It says, “Listen, our method is proven to make you happy, healthy, and whole.” And I looked at him, and I said, “You know, it's funny. I have a proven method as well, that I've seen work over and over again.” And it is the only path to joy, peace, and love. And as Pastor Janeth was preaching last week, and she mentioned that Hebrews 6 verse that really, really hit my heart and was kind of the inspiration for this sermon. And what was that verse that she read? It's going to be up here. It says, “Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God.” And that is the truth, isn't it? Those who drink in the words of God. Those who go to him and take it in. And don't just look at it, don't just put it to the side, but drink it in. It goes down deep. And it fertilizes and waters the land until God's crop begins to grow. And that is where you get healing. And that is where you get peace. And that is where you get joy. And that is where you get resilience and perseverance.

People try to skip the whole Jesus thing, and then claim a life that only comes in the Spirit. But today, as many gimmicks and drugs and pills and new methods that this world invents, I am telling you today that there is only one way to true life. It has always been this way, and it always will be. It doesn't matter as many pills, drugs, gimmicks, things, methods that the world invents, there will always and only be one way to true life. So today we're going to discuss the counterfeit that exists in this world and why, after all these years of new inventions, Christ is still the only way to eternal life. So if you have your Bibles, I'm going to be reading from John 10. It'll be up on the screen, of course. But if you have your Bibles and want to follow along, that's where I'm going to be. And I'm going to pretty much be there the whole time. But I want you to remember that Hebrews verse that really touched my heart.

So the first thing we're going to talk about is how there is only one gate. There's only one. Not many, not all different ways, not ways to go around the back. Only one gate. And you might ask, “Kris, why did you choose this sermon?” And it's because the more and more I see in the world, I can kind of see the direction that the world is heading. And it's heading towards all these alternate methods that don't involve God. All these alternate methods, just like this company that they hung their hat on, to be happy, to be healed, and to be content. That is great for them. But God has already established a way. And He is the gate to that way. You know, the question I constantly get asked, and I get asked it a lot, I want you guys to think, if you were asked this question today, how would you answer? Because it's a tough one. And I get it a lot. And the question is this. “Kris, if it works, why is it bad?” I get that all the time. I was having a conversation with somebody who, I guess, was micro-dosing mushrooms, right, like psychedelics. It's a really big thing now. And people with PTSD take it, and it rewires their brain, and they're getting really, really good results out of it. And I get asked the question, “Kris, if it works, why is it bad?!” My answer to that, of course, is, “I'm so happy things are getting better for you, and your symptoms are getting better. But let me tell you, do not be deceived. A Band-Aid will not grant you eternal life.” A band-aid will not grant you eternal life. Amen.

So let's open up our verse. This is Jesus talking to the Pharisees. And he says to them, “'Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by any other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he brought out all of his own, he goes on ahead of him, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice.'” I love this verse. But to really understand where we're at, we've got to understand the chapter before. The chapter before, Jesus finds a man who was born blind and goes and heals him. The Pharisees get really upset about it. They call him before an assembly, and they said, you know, “Who healed you? Were you really born blind?” They call the guy's parents. They do this whole court case against Jesus, and they bring up all these witnesses. And the guy's pretty funny. If you read it, he's like, you know, “What do you want? Are you one of his followers? Why are you asking me all this, right?” It's kind of funny to read it. I'm not going to go into it, but it's good if you want to read it later. And Jesus runs into him later down in the road and talks to him, and he ends up converting and repenting. And he goes through all of these things. And then later on, Jesus runs into one of those Pharisees. And this is what he says to them. Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so the blind will see, and those who see will become blind.”

That, coupled with this, because this story, they were all sequential. They all happened in the same time. That is a powerful, powerful statement. Not only is he telling them that they are blind, and they are not one of his sheep, and they're trying to come in through a different way, and they're not real shepherds. He is invalidating everything that they have done up into their life to this point. He is completely saying it was worthless! Remember Pastor Janeth preached last week. What happens when people don't accept your sacrifice? When Cain's sacrifice wasn't accepted, what happened? He went and got so angry he killed his brother. So we can understand when Jesus tells these Pharisees, everything you've done, everything you've worked for, all this stuff that you've done up to this point has been for nothing - do you think that made them happy? No, right? So we can understand why they were so angry that they wanted to kill him. Jesus talks about shepherds. Remember, shepherds are deeply, deeply ingrained in Hebrew tradition and their history. And it's definitely in the Old Testament. Some of the giants of the Old Testament, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, these are all giants of theology, and they were all what? Shepherds. And he doesn't compare them to those men. No, he compares them to thieves and robbers. Now, that word thieves and robbers is the same word in the Hebrew that was used to describe the men on the cross that were beside Jesus. Same word. So we can imagine that he is not just calling them like, you're a bad guy. No, he's saying they deserve death. Not only death, but they deserve the worst punishment that was available in that time. He is talking boldly to these Pharisees. Why? Because he's saying, you didn't come through the gate. You didn't come through the right way. You tried to go around the back. You tried to find a different way to come into the pen.

How? What was their alternate way? They were trying to do it through ritual and observance of the law and following exactly the little thing, every single little thing that they're supposed to, and the holidays and the washing and all these different things. And then they give them knowledge of the Old Testament. And then when people start to call them “teacher", now they're really righteous. But let me tell you something. That was not going through the gate. And that was not following the example of the Old Testament. Because what did the Old Testament do? Were the Old Testament people remembered because they're strict observance of every single little thing? The holidays? Is that what we remember them for? No, we remember them because of their faith. And it talks about it in Hebrews 11.

Abraham went to a new land he had never been to before. He had never stepped foot in this land. But God told him to go, so he packed up his life and he went because of the faith that he had. David feared the Lord, feared him and trusted him and had faith in his name. So much so he got up and he slayed a giant. And when somebody was trying to kill him and God delivered him into his hands, he said, “I'm not going to touch that guy because he was once anointed of the Lord.” He would not take his revenge. He would not take vengeance because of the faith that he had. Noah went and built a humongous ark in a dry-locked place when there was no such thing as rain. Why? Because of faith! These Pharisees were not following the way that had been laid out, which was a way of faith. They were going around the pen, around the back, trying to climb over the fence and go in through a window so that they can say, “I look exactly the same.” And this is the exact problem we have today. “I'm going a different way, but I still look just like you, so I must be one of the pen.” And Jesus said to them, nope, no way. You have to go through the gate. That is the only way, anyone who does not go through the gate is a thief and a robber.

"There is a submission that comes with recognizing the Lord Jesus Christ."

People don't want to go through the gate. Why? Because going through the gate requires surrender. Going through the gate requires surrender. It requires you to come before Jesus like that blind man, like that man who couldn't see, and say, “God, I am in need of a Savior. Have mercy on me, God. I have to go low. My ways are low. My pride is low. The things that make up who I am are but filthy rags before you.” And you lower yourself and you surrender unto him and say, “God, you are the gate. And only through you is eternal life. Only through you is salvation found.” There is a submission that comes with recognizing the Lord Jesus Christ. But people don't want to do that. So they go around the side. How do we do it today? We do it all different types of ways that people say that they are earning heaven. I was listening to a comedian. There was one bit he did I thought was pretty funny. And he talked about how he was in line and somebody sneezed and kind of sneezed on him. And he was like, “God bless you.” And the guy was like, “You believe that?” Like when he said, God bless you. And he's like, “Well, I was just trying to be polite, but that being said, yeah, I do.” And they were like, he's like, “Well, what do you believe?” And he said, “Well, I believe if I'm a good person and I do good deeds, one day I'll be able to get into heaven.” And he said, “What do you believe?” And the guy was like, “I believe that I'm going to die and go into the ground, and my body's going to feed the plants, and maybe one day the energy in my body will make it into a tree.” And then he went into this whole bit about how funny would it be if years down the line, you know, a lumberjack came, cut down the tree, brought it to the factory, cut it into little tiny slices, and then printed the Bible on them. Right? I thought that was pretty funny.

But the one part that stood out to me in that whole thing was the answer that he gave. And he said, “Well, what do you believe?” He said, “I believe I'm a good person and do good deeds. I will go to heaven.” And that is the philosophy that has been spread among this world. It's the same thing as back then with the Pharisees. No different! Because they're not surrendering to the gate. They're not coming before God and surrendering underneath him. “No, I can maintain who I am. I can maintain Kris, my pride, what makes me me, all the horrible things I went through, all the heartbreak, all the pain. I can hold on to all that and just help an old lady across the street or be nice to people. And if I do that, it's like Kris plus good deeds gets to go to heaven.”

But that's not how God works. That's going around the back. That's trying to climb over the fence. That's trying to go in through a window. To truly come into the pen there is a submission that must happen. There is a going down, a ridding yourself of all of your ways and all of your things and all of who you have been and recognizing him as the head of the house, as the most high king, and saying, “God, only through you can I enter in. Only through you can I have a seat at your table. Only through you can I truly know peace and life.”

There is no substitute. There is no counterfeit to the Lord Jesus Christ. As much as people want there to be, as much as people say, “I just have to look like them, find an alternate way, go around the back, skip the whole Jesus thing. But as long as I kind of look like I got it together in the end, then I must be the same as the Christian.” But let me break that lie today. There is one gate. There is only one way. He is the only way. And his name is the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

So we know there's only one gate. Secondly, only through that gate can you truly be saved. Let's continue our verse here. In verse 7 - “Therefore Jesus said again, 'Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.'” In this time, shepherds, right, they didn't have jobs that were like 9 to 5 where they get to go home afterwards and go, you know, watch football. That was their lives. So when they would go and they would protect their sheep, that was their entire lives. It was not a 9 to 5 job. So they would go and at nighttime, they would actually sleep at the entrance to the gate, right, to the entrance to the pen. They would sleep across it. Why? So if anybody tried to come in or if anything tried to go out, they'd have to go through him and he would know about it. He would wake up and he would know about it because his job was to protect the sheep. So you can imagine if he woke up and went into the pen and found somebody that he didn't know or somebody that didn't belong, how would that person be treated? Be treated like a thief or a robber, right? They shouldn't be there. They didn't go through the gate. So he would wake up and he would see them. And it is a fair thing to say that they had nefarious intentions.

It's the funniest thing in the world when you catch somebody red-handed in something that they're not supposed to be. This is why cops don't trust anybody because they always get lied to. I remember this one time we went and it was like a garage, like an auto garage where they do auto repair. And they had an alarm and they had a camera inside. And a silent alarm goes off and we go and we go inside and there is somebody inside the building. Like they see us. And we're like, “What are you doing in here?” and they were like, “I had to go to the bathroom.” And we're like, “Well, we have you on camera climbing in through the window. Why wouldn't you try the front door?” And he was like, “I tripped, you know, and fell through the window,” right? And all people make up all sorts of crazy, outlandish lies when it comes to the fact of when they were caught inside the building. But as soon as that person's caught, you know they're not there for a good reason. There is only one way into the pen of God. Only one way. And just like a business, if you come through the window, it's fair to say that you do not have good intentions.

It would be like me going to your house. And maybe you're outside working on your house, and you see me walking up. You've never met me before, and I start walking up aggressively up your driveway. And don't look at you. And you're like, “Can I help you?” And I'm like, “Nope, I got this, man.” And then I start to try to walk into your house. What's going to happen? How's that going to go over? Not well, right? Ask any guy in here. That's probably going to be a fight. I don't have to say anything, but the fact that I ignore you, that I put my hand up to you, and that I don't recognize you as the head of your household, and the fact that I don't recognize that you need to give me permission before I walk into your house, in that moment, everyone knows there's going to be a fight. There's going to be a struggle, because there's no way you're coming into my house without me saying it so! But this is how people treat God. This is how people want to treat Jesus. They want to look at him and say, “God, I don't need you. I got this. I'm going to do it my way. And I'm going to go into your house. And I'm going to go into your pen. And I'm going to sit at your table. And there's nothing you can say. I don't have to submit underneath the fact that this is your home.” How crazy would that be? But this is what people do to God. It takes surrender. Just like if you come to my house, you'd have to humble yourself and say, “Hi, sir.” Introduce yourself and say, “Would it be okay if I came in?” And I get to say yes or no, right? Because that's my house. Jesus is the exact same way. We can't just walk up. People want to walk up, put their hand up to God, not recognize him, not acknowledge him, and not say that he is the head over the household and that it's his way, not your way.

Because we can't go into God's house with our ways. You can't go into God's house with everything that you come from, with all your past and all your heritage and what your mom and your dad and your uncle and your aunt taught you how to act. You can't do that. You can't go to God saying, “I'm going to do things my way.” That's not how God's house works. God's house - to go into God's house - you have to humble yourself, recognize him as the king over his house, and say, “God, I am low. You are high. My ways are bad. Your ways are good. What I have done has turned to ash, but in you, true life might be found.” This is why when the Bible says that a rich man can't enter into the kingdom of God, it's so hard. It is. Why? Because you can't go to God with all your stuff on your back. You can't go to God with all of your history and your thoughts and your thinking and how you feel it should be done. No, those things need to be stripped off. And you must come before God, humble and broken and alone and naked and saying, “God, all of these things of the world have led me to destruction. But in you is eternal life. In you is peace. In you is joy. In you is goodness. In you is kindness, God.”

"To go and find pasture is only to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Because that is true peace."

And that is the only way that you can come and find pasture. That verse when it talks about coming and finding pasture. What pops in your head when you think of that? Right? Coming and finding pasture. I think of like a green meadow. Right? Nice brook running by maybe. Super peaceful. Low grass. You know, you can kind of sit on it against an oak tree. Blue skies. White clouds. Like it's peace. Right? Does everybody have that image in their head? That image that you have in your head right now is what this world is trying to sell to you in pill form. It's trying to sell that exact image. You guys ever watch a drug commercial? Oh my goodness, there's bunny rabbits and there's people and you, you know, all of a sudden everybody has great relationships with their kids and they're hand-in-hand, you know, skipping through and playing soccer and throwing the football and like, "I got you son!" Right? That is the image that drug companies and all these other methods and all these different ways and all these different things that say just follow that way, that is the image that people try to sell in pill form. But let me tell you right now. To go and find pasture is only to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Because that is true peace. It is peace of knowing him. It is peace of not being at war with God. It is peace of knowing in your heart of hearts, and your soul of souls, that God you are with me. And nothing in this world can ever take you away from me. And God you are beside me. And you walk beside me. And I will not stumble. Because your right hand guides me. And you are a light unto my path, God. That is true peace. And it is worth pursuing.

I pray every month at the Chief of Police meeting for Ocean County. So all the chiefs of Ocean County come together. They ask me to come pray. So now every month I'm their chaplain. And I go pray at the opening of every meeting. But I don't want to give them just like some like, you know, some like fly-by-the-night prayer. You know, that doesn't really mean anything. But it's hard. Because I only have like a minute to two minutes. And this week I went and I said, “Listen, you guys are all ambitious people. You guys have all gotten to your positions by being ambitious, by going after your dreams, and you've achieved them. And that's great. But let me tell you what the Bible says is worth pursuing. Love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, self-control.” Those things are not available in this world. Ask anybody who's successful when they reach their dreams. It's a hollow victory. Because in the end, what do they discover? That those things, all those commercials, all those pills that they try to sell you, guess what? At the end of the road, it's empty. It's hollow. Because those things are missing. And those things are only available in salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ, in submission to the gate, in going down low and bringing your pride low and bringing those things that make you, you low and saying, “God, you, in your name, you can transform me. In your name is available as salvation. In your name, you can do a miracle. In your name, God, I can be made new.”

This verse continues. Let's keep going in verse 11. He says, “'I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.'” My prayer, you know, if this is one of your first times being here, this part might not be for you. But for the people who have been here a long time, God does not make you to just stay a sheep forever, that just kind of just mooches off of God, right? The prayer is that eventually - that's why he talks about that you're not meant to be on milk forever but be on solid food and you should be teachers already. What he's really looking is that men and women would rise up, would take that call that God has had and would rise up and begin to take up a staff and sit in the gap for the people that are coming after you. For the children, for the new people, for somebody who is suffering, that you would pick up a staff and whack a wolf once in a while and sit in the gap! We can't be sheep forever! We can't be the ones that just stand there forever buying and getting all the good stuff. Once in a while, a man or woman has to arise that is willing to take up the staff. Remember with Moses the staff was a sign of his authority. Take up the staff, sit in the gap, because somebody once stood in the gap for you. Put your face out to the walls, to the fields, and look at those wolves and don't allow them through. That is what makes up the church. That is where the church must stand as this world continues to offer alternative ways to try to get healing and to try to be content and happy, the church must stand. The church must have people who are willing to stand up and be ones of God that say “no,” that say “No, no wolf is getting by me.”

See, these wolves circle, and the sheep are constantly being lost, and they're constantly being scattered inside of this country. Why? Because we have a lack of shepherds and an abundance of hirelings. God is calling for those who have been redeemed, who have been saved, who God has called them by name to no longer just stand, but to pick up a staff and be willing to fill in a gap in the wall. Jesus Christ is the only way that we can find salvation. He is the only way that we'll find pasture while we're here on earth. Eternal salvation only comes from him. And he is the only one that can transform you from a hireling inside of your heart to one who is willing to take up a staff and be a shepherd.

"If I could boil down Christianity to its most basic form... It is hearing God's voice and responding to God's voice."

So finally, we talked about how gate's the only way. The gate's also the only way to salvation. And finally, those who go through the gate will be blessed. Let's finish up our verse here. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me - Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father -” Imagine that intimacy. That's the intimacy that we are talking about. That the shepherd knows your name and you know the shepherd in the same way that Jesus knew the Father. “-and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this pen. I must bring them also.” And how will we know that they are sheep? “They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” If I could boil down Christianity to its most basic form, to take out all the fluff and just say, “What is it?” It is hearing God's voice and responding to God's voice. Right? Hearing what he says and then responding to it. The first day I walked into church, this broken 17-year-old kid, I heard God's voice and I dropped to my knee. I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't know who God was. I couldn't tell you a Bible verse. Maybe John 3:16. I had an old Bible. I drew peace signs and yin-yangs on the side of it. That's how little I knew about the Bible, right? But yet, when God spoke, there was something inside of me that had to respond. That is the basis of salvation, right? The basis of salvation is knowing him. And if you know him, you're going to fear him. And if you fear him, you are going to follow his voice.

It's not about going to church. As great as it is to be in church. It's not about going to church and sitting in the same thing and never being transformed. It's not about being a good person. As much as this world tries to tell you that all you've got to do is be a good person to make it into heaven. And do good deeds and do nice things. It's not about that. It's not about lighting a candle. It's not about going through ritual. I tell you today that the only way, the most boiled down version, is to know God, to hear his voice, and to respond to that voice. If I grabbed one of you, it doesn't matter who it is, and I grabbed you and brought you up here, and I said to you, “What exactly - not overall, I'm talking about in your life specifically - what do you have to do in your life, step by step, to make it to heaven?” That's a hard question to answer, right? I don't know many people would be able to answer it. But if I brought one of you up here, it doesn't matter who, and I sat you down, you could be brand new. And I bring you here and I said, “Listen, I want you to go take five minutes, go pray, come back, tell me something that God wants from you. Just one thing that God wants from your life today.” I think most people would be able to answer that. Most people would be able to say, “Yeah, this is probably what God wants from me,” right? Most people can answer that. You see, knowing God is simply seeking his voice, hearing, and following, right?

That is what makes you a sheep of the pen, is coming before the gate humbly, submitting yourself underneath him, saying, “My ways are not your ways. God, what are you calling for me?” And when he gives it to you, follow. And then you're going to follow today. And then you're going to follow tomorrow. And then you're going to follow the next day. And I promise you at the end of that path, when you follow it all the way out, you will be in the gates of heaven with God. As long as you are willing to submit who you are, come before God. Say, “God, I am in need of a savior today. And if you tell me, if you talk to me, I will follow your voice to the end.” I tell you that in the end, that gate will lead to heaven. It is the narrow path that my wife talked about a few weeks ago. It is the way to heaven. Men don't want to follow it because they don't want to submit. But it is available to you today.

He says, “I give my life for my sheep.” To know him, to follow him is to trust him. It's to know his voice. It's to trust him. What happens when you have a sheep that doesn't trust the shepherd? He tells them to go this way. And which way do they go? Don't we have that in the church? Don't we see that in the church? The shepherd says, “Go left.” And they said, “I'd rather go right. No, I smell something over here. It smells better.” And they go right. And the shepherd says, “Don't go over there.” And they say, “It smells really good though!” And they go and they get it, right? And they go do their own thing. And then what happens? We have people who are in chaos and their lives are falling apart and they're in brambles and they get lost in the river and they get swept up by the storms or the wolves come and they eat them up. Why? Because we have a bunch of sheep who do not trust the shepherd because they have not gone through the gate. To go through the gate is to submit yourself. To go through the gate, you have to trust God because you are trusting him with eternity. You are submitting yourself to him and saying, “God, I trust you above all things.” So if that trust is established at the gate, then every day that follows should be following him. This is the process of obedience. This is the process of sanctification that takes place, but it all starts at the gate. He set up the pen. Let's think for a second. He is the one that set everything up. He set up the pen. He is the creator of heaven and the earth. He did everything. He went and he sent his son. His son died on the cross so that you could have access to the pen. He did everything. He suffered. He died. He literally did everything he could to set up the path so that you could have entrance into the pen. So what happens if we are like that guy that walks into the house, puts our hand up to God, and says, “God, I'm going to do it my own way.” What sacrifice for sin is left?

I'm going to go back to that original verse, that Hebrews verse. “Land that drinks in the rain often, falling on it, that produces a crop useful for whom it is farmed, receives the blessing of God.” This is the same thing as saying those who follow the voice of God. Those who take that voice, that word, and they put it deep inside of their heart. They are the ones that are going to be blessed. They are the ones that are going to be led out to pasture. They are the ones that God is going to have his hand upon. And they are going to live under the shadow of his wings. Look, I'm not telling you that things aren't going to be hard. I'm not telling you that things are not going to get crazy and you're not going to deal with some crazy nonsense. My family can tell you all about it if you have a few hours. But what I can tell you is that it will no longer be inside your house. It will no longer be inside your heart. You can ask my wife. As I have come closer to Christ, as we have come closer to God, the chaos is no longer in the house. It might come from the outside. I'm not saying it's not going to knock on your door. It absolutely does. But when men submit themselves to God and they go low before him, the chaos, the turmoil, all of those things, they will no longer be inside the house. They can only come and knock on the door. And you, as the head of your household, choose to let it in or not. You take authority over your house.

But in God's house, he is the most high. In God's house, he is the king. In God's house, you can't just go in through a back door. You can't go in through a window. You can't go around the back and say, “I belong here.” The only way is through the gate. The only way to be one of the flock is to submit yourself before the gate. And God will bless you. He will be with you. His Holy Spirit will be there. You will go out and you will find pasture with him. You will live in peace under the shadow of his wings. Today I pray that as the world arises and all of these alternate ways that try to skip over Jesus, that try to go around through a window or jump the fence and try to say, “Hey, I'm the same as you,” right? “I'm the same.” That the church would rise up and be able to say, “Listen, there's all these ways that are out there, but there is only one way to eternal life.” There is only one way to know true peace. There is only one way to know joy. There is only one way to know love. You can find counterfeits of it everywhere; it's very easy, you can throw a stone and you're going to hit a counterfeit. But through God, through God, is the only way to eternal life. He is the authentic one. He is the original. There has been none after him. You will not find another in this world.

He will return one day and make himself known to this world, and it'll be plain to see, and all the counterfeits will burn away, and everything else will melt before him. But he will remain. And those of his flock will remain. Those of the saints that have submitted themselves to God, they will remain. The joy that you have inside of your household of your salvation, that'll remain. The love that you have established with God and then from that love of God out to your family, that'll remain. The peace that comes with God, that you're no longer at war with him in your house, that'll remain. But all the pride, it's going to go. The counterfeit, it's going to go. The lack of submission to God, that's going to be gone. The things that we white knuckle, that we hold on to and say and try to keep us warm, those will be gone. How many people have we seen come and they hold on to their pride and then in the end that's the only thing that they have left in their lives to keep them warm at night. Those things are going to disappear. They're going to melt away. God is the only thing that is eternal. He is the only thing that is eternal.