Sometimes Religion makes serving Christ more difficult than it really is. Jesus came to make it impossible! That is why He asked the Father to give us the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into all truth and to show us things to come. But learning obedience takes time – there is a price to spiritual things and not everyone is willing to pay it – so most people settle for Religion and for reiligious works…sad but true. What are you deciding? Are you prepared to go all the way with Christ? Here are some directives along the way.Summary of The Narrow Road Sermon
The Road that leads to Life
2003/12/07
Jesus gave us a choice between two roads: the narrow road that leads to life and the broad road that leads to destruction and hell. But He also offered an alternative after He would be gone: He gave us a third option: we can yield to the Holy Spirit who offers to be our Shepherd and Guide.
Religion makes you balance on a tight rope: Christ offers you a new reality, a new quality of living called Grace!
Religion makes you feel you are never good enough to qualify for the kingdom of heaven; Jesus tells you it is our heavenly Father?s good pleasure to give us the kingdom!
Religion concentrates on outwards works to try to save man; Christ offers an inner pathway that leads to life.
Our quest should therefore be to follow the instruction of Christ to allow the Holy Spirit to map out our path in life that will lead to eternal life in the kingdom of God. Instead of concentrating on trying to avoid the broad path that leads to hell we choose the narrow path Jesus offers, but we lean heavily on the Holy Spirit to guide us rather than try to walk the tight rope religion offers across the gorge and the abyss of destruction.
The yoke of Christ is easy and His burden is light.
The road that leads to life is narrow and only few find it. You can be one of those few today ? if you make a quality decision to learn to obey the voice of the Holy Spirit.
All of us have to learn to obey: it is not something that comes naturally. We are born disobedient to parents, teachers and all authority. It is natural to disobey. But when we accept Christ we receive His life in us.
Hebrews 5:8
He had to learn obedience through the things He suffered in this life ? even though He was the Son of God.
We become sons of God by accepting Christ Jesus and by believing in Him.
John 1:12
By believing in Him God gives us eternal life
John 3:16
Eternal life is knowing God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. Christ means ?Anointed One?.
Acts 10:38
We know how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil because God was with Him.
II Corinthians 5:21
He made Him who knew no sin to become sin for us so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ.
Narrow comes from the Greek word ?stenos? where we get our word ?stenography? from. The real meaning of stenography is actually ?narrow writing?. Narrow in the sense that Jesus uses it means that His ways goes against the natural inclinations of the flesh and the self-life.
On the opposite side of the scale is the word ?broad?:
?Euruchoros? has two parts to it: ?euros? which means ?wide? and ?choros?: ?without boundaries? a space between two points, wavering, or being double-minded.
?Choros? means a space unbounded as yet: no boundaries, no limits (not limitations), no rules, and it is a derivative of ?chasma?: note that it also means a gaping divide or to yawn!
Jesus told a tale about a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. When Jesus names someone it indicates that it is no longer a parable but a real story. The rich man lived well and ignored the beggar at his gate. When he died he ended up in hell where he suffered agony and torment in the flames. But when the beggar died he was seated on the lap of father Abraham.
There was a great chasm or gap between the two of them that could not be crossed. The rich man asked father Abraham if he would allow Lazarus to dip his finger in some water to bring a drop of water to him in hell, but father Abraham declined by referring to the chasm between them.
Then the rich man asked if Lazarus could be sent to warn the rich man?s brothers so that they would not end up in hell like he did. Father Abraham said, ?They have the prophets with them. If they do not listen to them, they would not listen to someone raised from the dead either.? The rich man chose the broad road that leads to destruction and Lazarus took the narrow road and entered the straight gate to end up in eternal bliss and comfort!

Lazarus means ?God has helped!?

Notice that the word ?chasm? also means ?yawn?. If you find the Gospel of Jesus Christ boring, you are busy creating a chasm or a gap between you and God and you might just end up where the rich man landed: in the flames of hell where you suffer torment. It is a terrible thought. But it should be a sobering thought, because the devil has put the world to sleep in his lap and they only wake up when it is too late?

Many people see the flames of hell just before they die ? but it is too late. It is told that a famous big band singer and star of many Hollywood movies saw the entrance to hell just before he died and uttered his last word: ?I don?t like what I see!?

Stephen ? the first Christian martyr ? on the other hand had a different vision just before he gave up his last breath: he saw the heavens opened and the Son of Man (as Jesus used to refer to Himself when he was on the earth) standing at the right hand of God!
It is also interesting to note that Saul of Tarsus who breathed out hatred and murder to all the believers in the first church and who approved of Stephen?s stoning, was sent to a street called ?Straigth? in Damascus where he received his life?s road map: it seems to indicate that you cannot find your real destiny until you choose the straight gate and the narrow road that Christ offers to you.

The narrow road is nothing else than the life of Christ being lived out through you. The straight gate is the decision you make to go through the gate that leads to that kind of life. Instead of living a life without boundaries and doing whatever your whims and fancies dictate, instead of obeying the flesh or the five senses and living to please the desires of the body of the fleshly mind; choose to obey the prompting of the Holy Spirit instead.

Romans 8:1-3

Most people are ridden with guilt in life because they do not listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. It is an inner voice. It starts off as the voice of your conscience. Evil men and women sear up the voice of their conscience until it is seared over with a hot iron and no longer disturbs them. This is what happens if you continually quieten the voice of the spirit: eventually it will become silent and you will no longer hear the voice of the spirit warning you from sin and danger. Then you are left to your own devices.
The world does not want to acknowledge God because the world does not want to follow the narrow path or enter through the straight gate.

Jesus said it would be easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to be saved. There was a narrow gate in the walls surrounding Jerusalem through which a camel with all its baggage could not enter. The owner had to unload the cargo and encourage the animal to go on its knees before he could pull it through the small entrance.

Peter and the disciples thought Jesus meant that it was impossible for rich fold to be saved, but that is not what Jesus meant. He simply meant that rich fold find it hard to let of things and to humble themselves before Go