TODAY’S DEVOTION (SUNDAY 8th DECEMBER 2024)
“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. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Matthew 7:13-20 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 343RD DAY OF OUR YEAR OF IMPACT.
For 343 days we have been receiving word from the LORD on this platform. The Bible says man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.
Our eternal destinies depend on the teachings and instructions we are exposed to daily. If we are exposed to good teachings called the doctrine of Christ, we will end well. But if we are exposed to the wrong ones, we will not end well.
The Bible teaches that there are two eternal destinations that awaits every one after this life. It is either hell or heaven. The type of teachings or instructions that shape our lives will determine which destination become ours. There are teachings that denies the existence of hell, leading to misconceptions with eternal consequences.
If you will make Heaven after the fulfillment of your days, you must not listen to such things that deny the existence of hell. The doctrine of Christ should be the only doctrine you submit your heart to.
The doctrine of Christ will warn you of the two eternal destinations, and prepare you for the one that God has prepared for His sons – Heaven.
Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. His mission was to depopulate hell and populate Heaven. That remains His mission today. If He lives in you, that will also be your mission. The Bible teaches that the everlasting fire was prepared by God for the devil and his angels not for mankind.
MANKIND WILL ONLY FIND HIMSELF THERE FOR HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH SIN, SATAN AND HIS ANGELS.
The gospel presents an opportunity for man to terminate relationship with sin and Satan, and embrace relationship with the Righteous one, Jesus Christ. That is what will save mankind from Hell fire. Yes, from the place of everlasting punishment – a place no soul should go after death.
If your vision, mission and actions on earth are not directed towards your soul making Heaven when you die, you are an eternal disaster waiting to happen.
It is important that we all treat the subject of “Making Heaven and escaping hell,” our ultimate in life. The Bible says our lives are like vapors, that appears and vanishes after a short period of time.
Those whose mission on earth is to go to Heaven when they die, live differently. They do not sit under scandalous preachers or peddlers of wrong doctrines. They do not call sin a weakness. They do not call co habitation marriage. They do not tolerate polygamy in any way.
They keep themselves pure by purifying themselves from defilement on daily bases. They spend their earthly days looking for that city, which has foundation, whose maker and builder is GOD.
However, due to the lack of sound doctrine in so many local churches, we have believers who fall below these Heaven making standards of God, and are not bothered about it. They are lied to by their pastors.
They have been made to believe that even if they live in any sin, so long as they pay their tithes, feed the hungry, visit the prisoners, clothed the naked, and etc. it will be fine with them eternally. But that is a doctrine of men, one of the broad-ways doctrines.
The Bible warned us against yielding our hearts to the doctrine of men, because they make the word of GOD of no effect in the lives of the seekers of God. They put people in the broad way that leads to eternal damnation by the way they live, and take those who have already crossed or escaped, away from the narrow way that leads to life, and return them to the broad way that leads to eternal death.
WHICH BRINGS US TO OUR DEVOTIONAL TEXT.
The text said;
“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. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them. Matthew 7:13-20 NKJV
This scripture shed a very great light on who false prophets are before God, especially by fruits. It says they are ministers who put human lives in the broad way that leads to eternal death. That is why the people who fall victim of most of them are people who are not passionate for Heaven.
They are passionate for the prophet and etc., using the name of the LORD, but not for Christ or Heaven. I want to reiterate again that if making Heaven is not your goal for living, you have just missed the goal for living.
Satan has placed in the Broadway that leads to death, people others see as role models, heroes and heroines, mega or minor dark churches, human systems, cultures, traditions, and influences to take men and women to hell.
On the flip side, God has planted in the Narrow way that leads to life, people others see as role models, heroes, heroines, Godly systems, churches operating as pillars and grounds of truth, Godly cultures, traditions, and influences, to lead men to Heaven.
IT IS LIKE SETTING THE WAY OF LIFE AND DEATH BEFORE US, AND THE SPIRIT IS SAYING, “CHOOSE LIFE THAT YOU MIGHT LIVE.”
Our LORD and savior Jesus Christ is urging us to enter by the narrow gate, where God has planted people, righteous role models, heroes, heroines, Godly systems, ground and pillar of truth churches, righteous cultures, traditions, and Holy Ghost influences to help us.
Wisdom demands we do not spend our earthly days away from them.
Now, there is also one major thing that the enemy placed on the Broadway to influence us to miss Heaven. The Bible teaches that the false prophets and preachers we see and hear are that very thing. You find some selling water, oil and etc. You find them promising people liberty, but they themselves are servants of corruption and moral decay.
People in God’s garment who cannot put Christ in others; just giving them an assurance of a salvation that they do not even have.
The connection between the subject of “the-Broadway-Narrow-way,” and the ministry of false prophets in this scripture, should tell us that Satan has false prophets in church with capacity to get hearts planted in the Broadway that leads to eternal death. On the flip side, GOD has prophets and ministers of His, planted in the Church global, to bring us to the narrow way that leads to life.
It is important to note that there are broad way doctrines, and there is the narrow way doctrine. The doctrine of Christ is a narrow way doctrine, but every other doctrine falls into the category of broad way doctrines. That is why one must be careful of the doctrine of any church they belong to.
The Bible says by the fruit of the doctrine on our lives, we can tell if they are doctrines of Christ or not. Doctrines of Christ will form Christ in us, but other doctrines will form the antichrist in us. That is why the issue of doctrine is key.
I have read a few books on the ministry of many preachers who were here before us. I found out that those who derailed in doctrine where allowed by God to be taken quickly from the earth, but those who were found in other forms of sins lived longer. There are two who are still alive today but those who derailed in doctrines in their times are long dead.
While some who departed from the life of righteousness but did not derail in doctrine died and went to hell, those who repented died and went to heaven. I discovered that GOD would always send strong warnings to those who spread falsehood before they are taken out.
To most of them, He went personally, He did not send anyone to them; and they stated it down in their write ups.
As we bring this to a close, I want to reiterate again that, there are broad way doctrines and there is the narrow way doctrine. Jesus said many are found in the broad way and few find the narrow way.
Yes, many follow broad way doctrines because they accommodate their sinful lives, iniquities, trespasses and spiritual recklessness.
They place no demand on them for right living. A lot of them focuses on their earthly needs, promises them death to their enemies, and show them how to satisfy their carnal desires. But if Heaven is your goal, then the narrow way doctrine of Christ must become your focus.
We pick up from here tomorrow.
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
“Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” Matthew 7:24-29 NKJV