Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
June 4, 2006 - W0623

The Bible says: “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 the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matt. 7:13-14 NIV). In other words, the Lord is saying …

DON’T MISS THE ENTRANCE TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

We don’t want to miss that entrance and the Lord makes it understandably clear what we must do. The Bible illustrates with this story about a young businessman: “And someone came to Him and said, ‘Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?’ And He said to him, ‘Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good: but if you wish to enter into life, kept the commandments.’ Then he said to Him, ‘Which ones?’ And Jesus said, you shall not commit murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and mother and, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ The young man said to Him, ‘All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me.’ But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.” (Matt. 19: 16-22) The rich businessman was a good person. He kept all the commandments, yet he sensed something lacking. What was missing?

·        A Relationship With God.

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven’…When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, ‘Who then can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man, this is impossible, but with God all things are possible’” (Matt. 19:23, 25-26 NIV). Essentially, Jesus is saying that to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, we must make an intentional, individual decision. It’s not just about being a good person as this man felt he had kept all the commandments. This man had a decision to make. He had a lot of possessions, yet sensed a void in his live. He didn’t have a relationship with Jesus. So Jesus tells him to sell all his possessions and to follow Him. But he was saddened because he valued his “stuff’ more than a relationship with Jesus. So what does that mean for us?

·        Revalue Your Spiritual Condition.

In other words, Jesus wants us to devalue anything that blocks the path between Jesus and us. Our relationship with Jesus has to be a priority. We must revalue our spiritual condition or the condition of our soul. For that is what will satisfy our hunger. It won’t matter if we have everything in the world because if we are far from Jesus, we’ll be empty. On we’ll have everything if we are close to the Father. Even if we are poor our relationship with Jesus is all we need.  Even as Christians, we will sense something missing if we are not right with God.  

As the story shows us, this rich man was spiritually poor. He was hungry inside. Why? The Bible says that, “He has set eternity in their heart…” (Ecc. 3:11) We instinctively know that something is missing because God wired us that way. Mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal put it this way, “In every person, there is a “God-shaped void.” That void can only be filled with God. We may fill it with all kinds of other things, but we’ll still be hungry.

One day, I was famished after canoe paddling practice. So I came home and ate whatever I could find in the refrigerator. That included dill pickles, milk, Pepsi, peanut butter with crackers, cottage cheese, pickled mangoes and then finished it off with a Snickers bar! I was full, but sick! I wasn’t hungry anymore, but I wasn’t satisfied either.

Our lives can be like that too. We can fill it with all kinds of things and still be hungry spiritually just as the young businessman. Jesus offered the young man a way into the Kingdom of Heaven. His offer is the same for us. We are…

·        Compelled To Make A Decision.

Why do people get nervous when we talk about Jesus? One reason people don’t like to hear about Jesus is because when we are face to face with Jesus, we must make a decision. We either accept or reject Jesus and people don’t like to be compelled to make a decision on whether He is true or not. You see in most religions, people don’t have to make a decision; you just pick and choose aspects you like. But Christ requires a decision so the rich businessman missed the entrance to Heaven by choosing his worldly possessions instead. Why was it necessary for the rich man to sell his possessions?

·        His Net Worth Became His Self Worth.

The reason the Lord wanted the businessman to remove his material wealth is because He knew that his goods had become his gods; his net worth had become his self worth. Does that mean God wants us to sell everything we have? Not necessarily! But until that was corrected in the young man’s life, he would never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The same message applies for us as well. There are things that we may need to give up. Whether we need to sell or give away material wealth, rid ourselves of pride, sever relationships, or change attitudes, we must adjust anything that gets in the way of our relationship with Him. Just confess to the Lord that we need His help and exchange our past for a future with Him.

You might say, “If I give up all I have, what will I have left?” With Christ, you will have everything. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (1Cor. 2:9 NIV). You may say, “But I’m a good person. God won’t send a good person to hell, will He?”  The fact is that Heaven is not earned by good works. When we come to God, we cannot say we are good because the Bible says: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23 NIV).

God knows us more than we know ourselves. Though we may not be hungry, we won’t feel good if we are far from Him. That’s why each of us must find the narrow gate where it will be necessary for us to lay everything aside and come through one at a time with a consistently, intentional decision to enter. If not, we will miss the entrance and forfeit eternity. Remember we cannot earn our way into Heaven.  

To illustrate, imagine planning flying from New York to Hawaii. If you mistakenly get on the plane to Los Angeles, you will not get to your desired destination no matter how nice you are or how much you beg the stewardess. The same is true for our lives. If we follow the broad road, it leads to destruction no matter how good we are.

·        Find the Road to Eternal Life.

Today you have an appointment with God. Jesus invites you to enter into the Kingdom one at a time. His instructions are clear. You must make a decision to follow Him. In other words choose a relationship with Him. Secondly, revalue your spiritual condition or remove anything that interferes with that relationship. The entrance to Heaven is narrow and easily missed by many. Therefore, make an intentional, committed, individual decision to be on the right path to insure you arrive at the entrance. Good works and net worth cannot be used as an entrance fee. The only way into the Kingdom is having a close relationship with Jesus. Keep in mind that all have sinned and fall short of His glory. So that means laying everything before the Lord whether that means giving away material wealth, severing unhealthy relationships, correcting bad habits, or being humble before God make that decision today. Otherwise you will lose all that God has prepared for you and will never be face to face with God without making that decision. So when Jesus asks you to rid yourself of anything standing between you and Him, your best answer is yes. Don’t wait too long for time is short. Choose right now to let God know what’s on your heart. Begin or renew your relationship with Jesus today.

Study Questions.

1.      “Enter through the narrow gate”. How difficult/easy is that for you?

2.      If you’ve made a decision to follow Jesus, what things did you lay before Him?

3.      What has God given you in exchange for your decision?

4.      Did Jesus mean that being rich is bad?

5.      Is there anything in your life that is blocking your path to the narrow gate? What can you do to correct it?

6.      What most impacted you about today’s message? How will you apply what you learned to your life this week?

Summarized by Leighton Loo