Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7:13-14.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
Life does not have to be so complicated as most make it for themselves. I so love you that I have simplified it for you. There is only one thing necessary, Luke 10:41-42, only One Name given among men by which you must be saved, Acts 4:12, and only one way to the eternal Kingdom. John 10:7-10. And there is only one thing you need to occupy your mind with. Joshua 1:8. And if you focus on that one thing everything else is added to you in ever increasing measure, including wisdom, skill in your work and every area and requirement of your life, and the answers you seek. It never needs to be confusing or complicated again, because when you have the one thing, it solves everything.
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14.
And that is the narrow way that leads to life, that is, to life unlimited full of glory even now, that few find.
Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. 2 Peter 1:10-11.
And what are we talking about here?
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 2 Peter 1:2-3.
And now let Me tell you the one line that explains it all: God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:9.
Let Me take you a step further:
This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. John 17:3.
And what did the apostle Paul share with you by the Holy Spirit?
But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Philippians 3:7-8.
And now look at the opposite:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ Matthew 7:21-23.
There is only one way to Me and that way is relationship. How can two walk together unless they agree? When we have a relationship, and the closer it is the more aware you become of Me and My grace, you will find that whenever you ask I answer. That when you need to solve a problem at work on how to handle a situation that is not in your area of expertise, I show you how and you come out with honor. That you know what to do when there seems no way. And you hear Me when you suddenly receive a reminder of something you forgot to do that would have a terrible consequence if not done. And you have total access to come with confidence to My throne day and night to receive mercy for healing, forgiveness, provision and to find grace (all answers, fruitfulness, and direction) just when you need it. This is the joy of relationship. We can be in a relationship. It is all up to you. When you draw close to Me, I draw close to you and the closer you draw the closer I draw to you.
People who say they never hear from Me or that I do not answer them are just telling you they have no relationship with Me. No matter how much you believe that a person exists, if you never speak with them in an intimate manner or spend time personally with them, you do not have a relationship with them. Knowledge, yes, relationship, no.
But how can you who are in the flesh and are born from below by corruptible, perishable seed have a relationship with Me who am Spirit and am holy and pure, to whom sin is an abomination that I cannot let My gaze rest upon without wiping it out?
Only one way. Let Him, My Word, tell you:
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:6.
What is He telling you? He is the way I save you from your sins, completely release you from them and cleanse you of them as if you and your ancestors before you had never sinned against Me. He saved you and made you holy, blameless and without reproach before Me so that you could receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in your resurrected spirit born again from above as a new creation in Christ to have access to hear from Me 24/7 forever.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14.
And that sums up how you are able to have a relationship with Me. The grace I have given you in Jesus for salvation, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption because of My great love for you from everlasting to everlasting, and the fellowship we share in My Spirit, who speaks My innermost thoughts to you, reminds you of all I have said, warns you of things to come, guides you to all truth, gives you words and a wisdom that no one can take exception to or contradict, and helps you pull the helm of your life as He prays in you and with you in spiritual language in which My perfect Will is expressed. He helps you in your weakness when you do not know what to pray as you ought.
I have called you to this fellowship with My Son that through Him you may have fellowship with Me in spirit and in truth, in purity and light, in holiness and godliness. And that is by My doing you have only to open your heart and receive. You have only to respond to the call to the one thing necessary to have all things follow besides.
Job, if you read his searching and seeking for answers in what he had caused to be a very complicated and unhappy life by a lack of relationship and true fellowship with Me. He knew of Me and he knew certain rules about godly conduct but he had no relationship with Me other than fear of bad things coming in on him and his children. When the trouble hit he had feared would come, he sat seeking answers from Me why a good person like him was having such painful complications in his life. His relationship was self-righteous blame and not loving relationship. But that all changed when I showed up and spoke with him, first in Elihu (his name in Hebrew means “My God He is”) and then Myself. But Elihu, the mysterious stranger to the conversation was the forerunner who opened the relationship. One who came like a fellow man with Job, but who knew Me well and introduced Job to Me. He prepared his heart and I then could speak with Job.
Job at one point wanted to converse with Me in a relational way but just could not. He longed to have a mediator who knew what it was to be man, had been tempted and tried in every way he faced, and yet was also one with Me and knew what it was to be God so he could relate to Me through that mediator that would join us both. And that prayer I answered in Jesus, your kinsman redeemer.
Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. Hebrews 14-18.
He fit My Divinity into your humanity, and your humanity into My Divinity in one seamless life for He is indeed true God and true man, showing we can be walking as one in fellowship, which in Greek, is also the word for partnership. When you have a relationship with Me in unceasing availability to hear at any time, which is natural for two who abide together in love, a partnership in works develops as well. Just as you are ready to hear and respond to My direction at any time, so I also am ready to hear and respond to your questions or need for help at any time. And My Son called this kind of relationship “eternal life.” You can have it now. You no sooner call, or just turn your heart in My direction whether in anguish, joy, or just to seek an answer, and I answer immediately, and the same for Me with you. We understand one another in the sense of purpose and manner of life. When you know Me well you no longer have any unanswered questions. My Son told you that.
In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full. John 16:23-24.
All those things I mentioned—the one thing necessary (fellowship with Jesus to which I have called you to come to Me), Luke 10:41-42, the One Name given among men by which you must be saved (you must believe in the Lord Jesus to be born again from above freed from sin and filled with grace), Acts 4:12, the one way to the eternal Kingdom (through and in Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit). John 10:7-10, and the one thing you need to occupy your mind with (My Word renews your mind and transforms you). Joshua 1:8, all make one thing possible in your life now and forever: a relationship with Me that surpasses any other relationship whether natural or supernatural in its beauty, intensity, and authenticity. It is the place of mercy, the place of grace, the place of answers, the place of light, and, above all, the place of perfect love. It makes life simple, not confusing or burdensome or complicated, but rather dedicated to one who loves you and is dedicated to you.
How do you get this relationship? First you must believe in the Lord Jesus as My Son upon whom I put all your sins and punished them on Him so that you have been made righteous in Him with My righteousness and are holy, blameless and without reproach before Me. When you believe in your heart that I raised Him from the dead with all your sins gone so that you are justified in Him by My grace, you are made righteous before Me, and when you confess with your mouth (out loud) that Jesus is Lord, you are saved. Romans 10:8-10.
Without receiving Jesus you are still in your sins and sin has no place in fellowship with Me. But I have legally given you mercy by accounting all your sins to the perfect, unblemished Lamb, My Son, who came down born of My Word from above and gave His eternal life in the flesh for the one you lost in Adam, that is, murdered by sin in Adam. Only one born again from above could do this and none of you could do that for you were all descendants of Adam and his seed which was corrupted by submitting to lies over the truth of My Word, which is incorruptible seed.
And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” John 8:23-24.
When you plant My Word in your heart you are cultivating eternal life.
Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. James 1:21-22.
My Words are life to those who find them and health to all their flesh. Proverbs 4:22.
And born again of that Word through regeneration by the Holy Spirit you become a new creation in Christ again in My image and according to My likeness.
For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. 1 Peter 1:23.
And then your spirit is alive to Me and dead to sin, your spirit is resurrected when I raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him at My right hand, and I seated you there with Him and in Him in spirit and blessed you with every spiritual blessing in Heaven. And this is a place of fellowship and partnership, love and honor, beauty and holiness, peace and clarity of answers and vision. And this place is yours in Christ. Will you open when I know and come in and dine with Me in the communion with Jesus?
Remember, when you are saved, that is not the end, there is much more. Some are saved but pursue no relationship with Me and do not fellowship or partnership with Me. This grieves My Spirit in you and hardens your heart so that you ignore My voice and make your life complicated by disobeying My Word, complaining, and walking in darkness though you have the light. You beg for things instead of drawing close and believing. Some of those who followed Jesus stood at a distance as He died on the cross but there were those who drew close and heard all His last Words and were there for Him. It makes a difference whether you draw close or keep your distance from Me. And that is true of your relationship with anyone.
Relationship is reciprocal. You have to want it and pursue it. And then you have to find the other person open to you. You cannot fellowship with someone who rejects your advances. No one who comes to Me will I ever reject. If you draw close to Me, I will draw close to you. And there is only One way you draw close to Me, a relationship with Jesus. And that is why I invite you to fellowship with My Son.
“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:37-40.
I have much more to tell you, but that is enough for this Life Lesson. As we continue with this series you will begin to understand and cherish the narrow way, for it is the path of answers, joy, peace, and perfect unity with the One with whom you must render an account. And that is nothing to fear if we have been walking together along the path of your life.
I love you. With Me the narrow way become the way of no limitations, narrow to the flesh opens the wide space of the Spirit.
Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7:13-14.