Matthew 7:13-14
13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Many years ago when I was a kid my Dad and Mom took us on a trip to Colorado. When we got the Dad decided to take us up Pike's Peak. On our way up the road got very narrow and on one side was the mountain and on the other was a drop off that was way too deep to figure out. I remember as Dad drove up the mountain that we got more and more scared as looking out the window we could not see the road. After some time we made it to the top and it was beautiful and there was snow all over the ground.
The scripture read narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
On the way up that mountain there was not many people who braved it to go that high up with the road being so narrow to see it.
In our life we must choose which road we are going to take. If we follow the narrow road to heaven it is going to be a hard road to take. There will be many trial to overcome, many times that Satan will try to destroy us to push us over the edge. However, if we follow that road then at the end of some time we will make it into Heaven.
May people will choose the easier road which is the road that is broad of no rules, no morals, laziness, & do what I want. But, in the end the road lead to eternal life in hell.
One of the things we must be careful about is following religion. This church belongs to the Pentecostal Church of God however, that is not a religion. The is a Christian church which means that we follow Jesus.
What Separates Christianity from Other Religions
Every other religion teaches us how to earn our way to God.
Romans 5:8
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God sent his Son to die for us, because He knew we could never get things right apart from Jesus. God came to us first.
Religions often times have a lot of things that you must do to fulfill their laws to receive ultimate spirituality.
We must have that relationship with God that is the center of our life. Christianity is a relationship with God.
Christianity has an empty tomb.
Every major religious leader is dead. People have been looking for Jesus' body for thousands of years, and they still haven't found Him! The tomb is empty, and the body is not hidden and will never be found because Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven.
I have been asked many times "What religion are you?" and my answer is I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ which make me a Christian. I have a relationship with him not because of who I am, or what I have done, but because I have Faith in Him and that He has died on a cross for me and I have asked Him into my heart.
Matthew 6:5-15
5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
You are a Christian and you need to learn to communicate with your Heavenly Father. Without this communication you will slip back into sin and spend your eternal life in Hell.
Someone can pray long but to the wrong god. In 1 Kings 18:26 the prophets of Baal cried out, "O Baal answer us" for half the day. In Acts 19:34 a mob in Ephesus shouted, "Great is Artems of the Ephesians" for two hours. The true God is impressed by the length or eloquence of our prayers, but the heart. Prayer requires more of the heart than of the tongue.
In verse 8 it says "Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him: We don’t pray to tell God things that He didn’t know before we told Him. We pray to communicate with and appeal to a loving God who wants us to bring every need and worry before His throne.
Quit trying to impress the crowd or someone next to you with your words or how long you pray, but pray with your heart and talk to God like you would a close friend. Let him know why you are before Him and what is your need.
It is not who you are that will get you into Heaven, but it is who you know personally that will get you there. Most of you have been to church all or most of your life and yet you get lost in your daily ritual or routines. However with God you must make Him the center of your life or you will not make it to heaven.