The Choice: Narrow vs. Wide Gates

Introduction
I couldn’t sleep last night.  I was very tired.  I worked outside in my garden all day Saturday and I was physically tired.  I went to bed early.  I fell asleep fast.  But I woke up just a couple hours later with this sermon and you on my mind.  In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus said we all have a choice to make.  Listen to what He said. 

Matthew 7:13-14
¹³ “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. ¹⁴ But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”

The Way of Eternal Life
Jesus used gates and roads as a metaphor for eternal life and eternal damnation.  The narrow gate and difficult road represents the way of life that leads to eternal life in heaven.  The narrowness of the gate represents the exclusive nature of the path to eternal life.  Jesus is the only way to eternal life.  Jesus explicitly said so in John 14:6 - “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

So, some will not go to heaven because they either reject Christ or never deliberately choose Him.  Jesus said the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult.  Living a life that adheres to Jesus' teachings requires self-discipline, sacrifice, and a willingness to go against the prevailing norms and values of society. This path is not the easiest, but it is the one that leads to true life.

Jesus wants everyone to have eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.  (I want that for you too!)  But the reality is:  the gate is narrow and the road is difficult and few people ever find it. 

The Highway to Hell
Most people choose the wide gate and take the highway to hell.  It's the route that seems easiest and most convenient, requiring little to no sacrifice or change.  It aligns with our natural desires and the immediate gratification of our wants without considering the long-term consequences.  

And besides, it’s the road most people choose.  You don’t even have to think about it.  You just go along with the crowd.  It requires no discipline, no self-examination, no repentance or transformation. 

Yeah, it’s easy; it’s convenient; and it offers the false promise of freedom.  But it’s a lie!  While the gate is wide and the path is easy, it leads to spiritual death, separation from God, and eternal punishment in Hell. 

And I woke up last night full of sorrow and concern for the multitudes of people traveling on the
highway to hell and for the very few who choose the narrow, difficult road to heaven.  I lay in my bed thinking about how I may have failed to do my part to encourage others to choose the right path–the one that leads to Heaven.  I lay there thinking about everyone who would be sitting in my congregation  or watching online the next morning to hear this sermon, as well as everyone who might read it on my blog.  And I thought about how so many think you are walking on a path that leads to eternal life in heaven when you are not.  Maybe you think you're going to heaven because:

• You were baptized as a baby, (or as an adult), or
• You go to church, or
• Your parents or grandparents were great Christians, or
• You believe God exists, or
• Because you’re a good person, or
• Because you just believe everyone goes to heaven.

Listen to me.  No.  Don’t listen to me; listen to Jesus.  Jesus says it right here in our Scripture.  “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”

Few Ever Find It
Most people think it’s so easy.  They say:  Just be a good person.  Go to church if you want to.  Be nice.  You’ll go to heaven.  But Jesus says:  “The gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”

You see, the idea here is, you can have good intentions and still miss the gate to life.  You can’t just casually walk through life assuming you’ll stumble through the right gate.  No sir.  You might still miss it.  You may think you went through the right gate but realize too late you chose the wrong one.  If you want to be one of the few people who find the gateway to eternal life, you better get serious about it.  You better study it so you'll recognize the right gate and the right path when you see it.  you better choose wisely.

People get serious about all kinds of things in this life.  They’ll work hard to achieve goals like:

• Athletic achievements
• Educational Achievements
• Finding a mate to spend their life with 
• Building a successful career,
• Home ownership
• Health and wellness
• Travel and adventure

Perhaps you can think how you have strived for some of these in your own life.

People plan and save and study and invest themselves in all kinds of things–some things that are good and important.  But the most important thing, the thing that will literally last for all eternity, so many people approach carelessly, as if this most important thing just happens automatically.  Few things worth having just happen automatically.  You have to be committed and strive for it.

How to Find the Narrow Gate
If you really wanted to be a winning athlete, you would intentionally train to succeed.  You might practice daily to get good, maybe workout to grow stronger; you might even change the way you eat to become healthier and fuel your body. 

There are things you can do to help you be one of the few who finds the narrow gate Jesus says leads to eternal life.  And I suggest everyone be dedicated to spiritual training.

1. Repent and seek forgiveness - Acknowledge your sins and mistakes, repent, and seek God's forgiveness. This process of turning away from sin is crucial in finding the narrow gate.  You will never find the gate until you decide to start looking.  And repentance is the the first step.
   
   
2. Commit to Live for Jesus - Jesus chose you.  But you have to choose Jesus.  You have to consciously decide to be His disciple–to apply Jesus' teachings in your daily life, including loving your neighbor, forgiving others, practicing humility, and serving those in need.
   
   
3. Join a faith community - Being part of a church or a spiritual community provides support, accountability, and encouragement as you strive to live a life that reflects Jesus' teachings.  Worship together.  Study together in a small group.  Serve together.  Jesus and the original Twelve Disciples worked together as a group.  If Jesus and the Twelve needed to be in a group, what makes you think you can do it alone?
   
   
4. Read the Bible - Regularly reading and studying the Bible helps you understand God's principles and Jesus' teachings. This knowledge is foundational to discerning the narrow path.  It’s the only way you are going to know which gate to go through and which path to follow in life.
   
   
5. Pray - Prayer is a powerful way to communicate with God, seek His guidance, and express your desire to follow Him. It aligns your heart with God's will.  Prayer is the heart of walking on the right path with Jesus. 

Closing
Some of you are already doing these things.
Some of you need to do better.
Some of you need to take a good hard look at your life and recognize, you’re just blindly walking through life along with everyone else, and you don’t even realize you are traveling on the highway to hell.
You better wake up now, before it’s too late and you find yourself suffering for all eternity!

 

Praying Through The Psalm by McKenzi Marlow

Today, I am pleased to share the second instalment in a series on prayer by a member of my church, McKenzi Marlow.  McKenzi is a talented young lady who graduated Summa Cum Laude from Samford University with a BA in English and literature concentration.  McKenzi will enter the English Masters program at Auburn University this fall where she will also be teaching and doing research.  Today, McKenzi shares about her experience with praying through the Psalms over the last week and over the weekend while on a trip to Austin, Texas.

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Hello regular readers of Pastor Chris’ blog!

As I mentioned last week, most of my prayers up until now have been collections of petitions and intercessions to God. It wasn’t until I began seeking Christ and Christian community on my own in college that I realized prayer was deeper and more complex. Last week, Dr. Floyd’s article introduced the idea of beginning prayer time with scripture. Since opening my prayers with Psalm 63 had been beneficial, I decided this week would be the perfect time to learn how to pray through the whole book of Psalms. 

I began, as anyone would in the 21^st century, by Googling “how to pray the Psalms.” One of the first links led me to The Upper Room website and their articles on prayer. According to The Upper Room staff writer, the book of Psalms is known in both the Jewish and Christian traditions as the “prayer book of the Bible.” Unlike a normal poetry collection, the Psalms are meant to be used in conversation with God; to praise Him, exalt Him, and tell Him our anxieties. The Upper Room article says, “[The Psalms] teach us to hide nothing from God, but to bring all that is real into the only relationship that can bless and heal the worst in us.” Confirmed in my suspicion that Psalms are the key to a healthy prayer life, I decided to let the “words of the Psalms accompany [me] into God’s presence” this week (“Praying the Psalms”). 

Unlike Dr. Floyd, The Upper Room failed to provide me with specific instructions for praying the Psalms. To their credit, they did include a list of Psalms to pray in certain situations. If I felt contented, for example, The Upper Room recommended Psalm 23. If I felt anxious, they recommended Psalm 70. Though helpful, this list is not a structured method for prayer. Disappointed, I turned once again to Google. To my relief, I stumbled upon “How to Pray the Psalms” by Pastor Benjamin Kandt. Kandt is the pastor of formation and mission at New City Church in Orlando. In his article, he gives a brief explanation of how to—you guessed it—go about praying the Psalms. Though his article is not a prayer method outline like Dr. Floyd’s, I still found Kandt’s observations beneficial. 

The first tip Pastor Kandt gives is “pray through the whole Psalter.” Psalters are collections of Psalms “arranged for liturgical worship in Christian churches” meaning they are intended for public, corporate worship like hymnals (Kiczek). For those of us who do not own Psalters, Pastor Kandt gives instructions for using our familiar Bibles. He gives two methods. To simulate the structure of the Psalter you can, “Multiply the day of the month by five and pray those psalms” (Kandt). Now, if you’re anything like me, you balk at the mention of math, even if it’s a simple calculation. Nevertheless, I whipped out my phone and crunched the numbers. Since it was the fourteenth of June, I was supposed to begin with Psalm 70. Great! But I had a problem: where should I stop? According to his article, Pastor Kandt prayed five psalms in succession. Should I just count up from 70 and pray Psalms 70-74? Perturbed, I decided to review the second way to simulate the Psalter. Kandt writes we can forgo math (hooray) and “start with Psalm 1 and pray it in the morning, afternoon, and evening. . . [moving] to Psalm 2 the next day.” Needless to say, I chose this method. 

My method selected, I read Kandt’s next tip. His second bullet point says to “make the psalm’s words your words.” Whether the psalmist is lamenting or praising, we are meant to take their emotion in stride instead of hopping around looking for the right words to fit our mood. As I moved through the first seven psalms, I found it difficult to push myself to feel negative emotions, especially when I went on vacation. It’s hard to call for vengeance on your enemies while surrounded by friends. It is important, however, not to skip over psalms of vengeance or sorrow when we aren’t feeling those negative emotions. In Romans, Paul says we are to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12: 5). In other words, we are supposed to empathize with our fellow man. If I can’t even identify with a psalmist’s joy and sorrow, how am I going to do so with my friends’ and family’s. Allowing the psalmist’s phrases to guide my prayers meant my laments were longer, but when I did get to praise God, my joy was brighter.

While we pray through the Psalms, regardless of their tone, Kandt recommends we “meditate on [them].” This step was difficult for me, especially while I was vacationing. Getting up thirty minutes earlier than everyone else to ponder the Psalms after staying up thirty minutes later the night before was not something I really wanted to do. It required a lot of discipline to sit still and reread verses that jumped out at me. Most of the time I could feel my mind trying to wander while I attempted to let God “shine His light” on the passage (Kandt). 

Kandt’s fourth tip is to “memorize the Psalms.” In times of spiritual speechlessness—those nights when you just don’t know what to say to our Father—having the Word stored away will help you articulate what you need to say. Last week, I decided I didn’t have time to memorize anything properly, but I will be circling back to memorization in my private spiritual life. I already have the opening verse of Psalm 63 locked and loaded! 

Kandt’s fifth tip is to “pray the psalms like an apple tree or Christmas tree.” When I saw that line for the first time, I raised an eyebrow at its childish, Bible School vocabulary only to sheepishly force the brow back down after reading his explanation. Those phrases are actually useful! Kandt explains apple picking as choosing “pleas and praises” from the Psalms and making them your own. As an English major, I try to avoid taking quotes out of context to use for my specific purposes, which is what Kandt’s apple picking sounded like to me. That left the Christmas tree method. 

With the Christmas tree method, you simply “[hang] your pleas and praises” from the Psalm’s words. As I allowed the different psalms to inform my mood and length of my prayers, I was glad the Christmas tree method was so customizable. For example, Psalm 1 says, “Blessed is the man / who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked.” I read the verse and then began hanging my plea and praise. I prayed, “Father, help me turn from the counsel of the wicked and listen to Your good instructions instead.” Here, I pleaded for salvation from wicked counsel and praised God’s goodness. With that branch decorated, I moved on to the next verse. By the end of the passage, I felt like I’d had a fulfilling, deep conversation with someone close to me. 

The sixth and final tip is to “pray the Psalm through Jesus & with Jesus.” This tip works in tandem with the third, meditation. As you’re sitting there, eyes closed, attempting to mull over a specific word or phrase that stuck out to you, imagine Jesus doing the same thing. When I lamented, I imagined Him lamenting in the Garden of Gethsemane, and when I praised God, I imagined Jesus praising Him after performing miracles to reveal His glory. I felt closer to Jesus because I realized I was praying the same words He would have known, loved, and used two thousand years ago. This revelation added an extra layer of fervent awe to my prayers even as I struggled to be still during meditation. 

At the end of the week, my prayer life felt a little dehydrated. I started strong, Christmas tree-ing every Psalm I read, all three times I read it, but by the end of the week, I was just throwing random ornaments at the passage as I let my eyes scan the words. Autopilot praying isn’t fair to God, and it definitely isn’t going to help our relationship flourish. I think Pastor Kandt’s tips are useful, but they would benefit from having more structure or at least a journaling session as the final step. Though disappointed, I appreciate the challenge that praying the Psalms posed. Wish me luck as I attempt to follow my third method this week. I’ll let you know how it goes! 

In Christ,
Mckenzi Marlow

Citation:

Kandt, Benjamin. “How to Pray the Psalms.” praypsalms.org, Medium, 16 July 2017, https://praypsalms.org/how-to-pray-the-psalms-60484747091a 

Kiczek, Steven. “Cataloging Biblical Materials: Differentiating Psalms from Psalters.” Princeton University Library’s Cataloging Documentation, Princeton University Library, https://library.princeton.edu/departments/tsd/katmandu/bible/psalmpsalter.html 

“Praying the Psalms.” The Upper Room, upperroom.org , 2021, https://www.upperroom.org/resources/praying-the-psalms

Prayer As A Spiritual Journey by McKenzi Marlow

Today, I am pleased to share the first instalment in a series on prayer by a member of my church, McKenzi Marlow.  McKenzi is a talented young lady who graduated Summa Cum Laude from Samford University with a BA in English and literature concentration.  McKenzi will enter the English Masters program at Auburn University this fall where she will also be teaching and doing research.  I plan to post McKenzi's blogs each week on Wednesday.  I invite you to follow along!

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Hello regular readers of Pastor Chris’s blog! 

My name is Mckenzi Marlow, and I have recently graduated college. Idling between college and grad school, I asked Pastor Chris if there was any way for me to get involved with the church this summer. To my surprise, he asked me to do a blog series on prayer. For the next three weeks, I will be attempting different pastors’ prayer methods, recording my progress, and sharing with all of you here. Though I’m nervous for the challenge of communicating my thoughts on spiritual things, I am excited to dive deeper into my own prayer life and grow closer to my Heavenly Father. 

For this week’s post, I checked out Dr. Ronnie Floyd’s prayer method. Dr. Floyd is the Senior Pastor of Cross Church and founder of the Cross Church School of Ministry. In an article I found on Crosswalk.com, Floyd speaks of prayer as a “spiritual journey.” Before I read that phrase, I’d always thought of prayer as simple communication with God, like sending a passive report to your boss once a day to check in and make sure your requests are being heard. Dr. Floyd, however, understands prayer as an active expedition into our spiritual lives. When we pray, our “spiritual destination” is open communication with God, but to “reach [it] effectively and consistently” we must have a plan (Floyd). If there is anything I need after a year of pandemic and pandemonium, it’s consistent, effective communication with my Creator, Lord, and Father. 

Though the act of prayer is more complex than I had imagined, Dr. Floyd assured me his plan was “simple, sequential, specific, and spiritual.” To my delight, he was correct. Usually, my prayers, whether silent or aloud, become confused or distracted by other thoughts in my head instead of staying engaged with God. Floyd’s method not only helped me talk to God, it gave me an ordered, specific way of going about it, and if there’s anything my Type A brain loves it’s order and specificity. 

Dr. Floyd breaks down his process into three easy steps. The first step is simple: read your Bible. According to Floyd, “The Word of God and prayer go hand in hand.” I’m embarrassed to admit that in my eighteen years as a cognitive Christian, I had never thought to pick up my Bible before I prayed. I had heard of praying through the Psalms before, so Monday night I grabbed my black leather Bible and flipped to a random page. My eyes scanned, “You, God, are my God / Earnestly I seek you” (Psalm 63). Apparently, God was glad I’d finally figured out how to text him back. I continued to use this Psalm to open my prayers each night, and as I grew more familiar with the neat lines of black text, I grew more familiar with my Father. 

If the first item on Floyd’s list is simple, the second is more so: Pray. In the Crosswalk article, Floyd outlines some principles for us to follow. To begin, we should confess our sins. I wasn’t sure how to do this since I know I sin a lot in a day, sometimes without even realizing it, but I don’t necessarily keep track. I decided to do a blanket confession. I also asked God to reveal each sin to me as it happens so we can work on eradicating those together. The purpose of my walk with God is to become more like Jesus; though I know I can never be perfect, I can at least try to be good. The best part is, I know God hears my confessions and accepts my repentance each time I stumble. 

After confession, Floyd says to praise God. That one’s easy! Or is it? God has done so much both in the Bible and in my own life. . .how can I manage to praise him for everything? Floyd recommends we focus on three of God’s attributes. This week I chose His patience, goodness, and power. In my Bible, I flipped to moments in Genesis and Exodus that exhibit His power. I chose to listen to “Good Good Father” to meditate on His goodness. For patience, I reminisced about all the times in my life He had to patiently wait for me to turn back to Him. As Floyd’s method became routine for me, I noticed each of God’s attributes are linked together. Saving the Israelites from slavery with ten plagues is an example not only of His awesome power, but of His goodness and patience as well. 

After we confess our sins and praise God, Floyd writes we must thank Him. This week I thanked God for tiny things in my life like the double rainbow I saw coming back from the gym, and the women’s Bible study I’ve been able to find community in this summer. Next come petition and intercession. I tend to confuse the two categories, but Floyd defines petition as “prayer on personal needs” while intercession is praying for other people. To my delight, he even provided us with a schedule for intercessory prayers! I found following it to be rewarding because I was able to devote equal time to each subject instead of rushing through everything on my prayer list without a backwards glance. I’ve included the rotation below: 

              Dr. Ronnie Floyd’s Weekly Intercession Rotation:

                             Sunday: World missions/missionaries

                             Monday: Lost and unchurched

                             Tuesday: the United States

                             Wednesday: Friends

                             Thursday: Christian leaders

                             Friday: Your local church

                             Saturday: Relatives 

Petition and intercession were familiar to me, since most of my past prayers have involved a mixture of the two. For his final prayer step, Floyd devotes an extra category to requests “so critical [they require] daily attention from you for a specific time or until the crisis has passed.” These are called urgent requests. I didn’t have any this week, thank goodness, so I chose to skip this part though I appreciated Floyd’s separation. I tend to throw everything into the urgent category without a second glance, but differentiating between intercession, petition, and urgent reminded me God has everything under control. I was able to relax and simply enjoy speaking to Him. 

The third and final step in Dr. Floyd’s prayer method is: journal. I was surprised to see that the type of entry Floyd encourages is a one page letter to God. He explains letters are “concrete” and “[provide] a sense of relief from your burdens,” and I wholeheartedly agree. Floyd writes, “As you document your walk with God. . .your faith in the power of prayer will increase.” At the beginning of this week, I was hopeful. I mean, that’s what this whole blog project is about: Mckenzi rekindling her faith in the power of prayer. And here, at the end of the week, the night before this blog post is due, I’m elated to report I already feel a sense of plush peace when I begin to pray instead of exhausted duty. I flipped back through my letters before editing this post, and I noticed the ones from the beginning of the week are concerned with petitions and intercessions. At the end, however, they are odes to God’s attributes and His love for me. The letters grow more personal as the days pass, and I am thankful I finally feel as if I have a true intimate relationship with a Heavenly Father even as I serve the Great I Am. 

I found Dr. Ronnie Floyd’s prayer method to be easy to follow and successful in deepening my relationship with God. This Monday, I’ll be attempting to follow a new prayer method. I am excited to grow even further in my relationship with God, and I hope by the end of this project I’ll be able to create my own personalized prayer method using all of the techniques I learn. 

Until next week,

Mckenzi 

Works Cited:

Floyd, Ronnie. “How to Have a Personal Prayer Plan.” Crosswalk.com, Crosswalk.com, 19 May 2017, https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/prayer/how-to-have-a-personal-prayer-plan.html