Which pathway are you on?

Which pathway are you on?

In Matthew 7:13-15, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” This shows that one must enter from another pathway and then choose which path to walk on and it is displaying more than one pathway. It also shows that there are two different types of prophets or preachers who will lead you into the pathway of “righteous” or in the pathway of “unrighteous”.

There are different pathways that a person can choose to walk on during their life. The first is the pathway that we are born into and that is the pathway of the world community of human beings. This pathway is the largest because it is the pathway that everyone is born into. It is a pathway that is full of good and bad, rich and poor, educated and uneducated and young and old people of this world.

On this pathway of the world community, you will find many different gates and each one is reaching out to them that are on this pathway of life. On this pathway of the world community there are two spirits calling out to everyone. The Spirit of God and the spirits of demons are both calling out to those who are walking on this pathway of the world community. On this pathway of the world community, there are different gates that will lead to other pathways and each pathway has its own calling, some are towards a life of evil and some towards a life of good will. There are other gates with different faiths and belief and each is calling out to those who are walking on the pathway of life. But there is also a pathway that leads to the Gateway called Calvary.

When a person enters this Gateway called Calvary, they will find two other pathways before them. One is the straight and narrow pathway and the other is the broad pathway. To the world, this ideal of different pathways is unfounded and ridiculous, however the people of this world and its governments and religious organizations are indeed walking on one of these pathways, the only difference is that the person must choose which path that they will walk on.

When a person enters through the Gateway called Calvary, they will become acquainted with these two pathways. There they will find Jesus and in the shadows of darkness, Satan and his demons lying in wait as a hunger loin waiting to devour its prey. A person will consider these two pathways and they will base their decisions upon their own life style, the belief of their family and their own lack of knowledge of the teaching of Jesus Christ and the Apostles. They will place their belief in what a person will tell them without searching the scriptures. Too many of them will reject the Truth that is only in the Lord Jesus Christ and turn towards customs and tradition, and become blinded to the words of our Lord and it is all because of false doctrine, false teaching and false preaching and most of all by the demons who will instill doubt within their minds.

The true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are the ones who will reject the whispers from Satan and his demons. They are the ones who will walk upon the straight and narrow pathway. Those who are walking on the broad pathway are those who are listening to the whispers of deceit from Satan and still claiming to be followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Only you can choose which pathway to walk on, no one else can choose it for you and no one can walk it for you.

Both of these pathways have an exit that leads towards the other pathway. A person who is walking on the straight and narrow pathway can exit and enter the broad pathway and a person who is on the broad pathway can exit and enter the straight and narrow pathway. The Spirit of God and the Spirit of Demons are busy in calling out to these people who claim that Jesus is their Lord. Those who hold on to the “Truth” are the ones who will stay on the straight and narrow pathway and those who will listen to the demons and their false doctrine and false preachers are those who will walk on the broad pathway.

Hearing the Word of God.

Jesus gave an example of what takes place when a person hears the words of our Lord and what Satan will do and what some people will do. Luke 8:11-15, “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.” We indeed choose which pathway to walk upon, we will listen to the Spirit of God, or we will listen to the spirit of demons.

Those on the “wayside” are the people who came to God and receive the message of salvation. They are the sinners who come to Jesus Christ and then Satan will use family members, friends, and other preachers to dispute the Plan of Salvation that they have received and soon they will question their own understanding towards the Word and Spirit of God and turn towards the belief of others and reject the True Plan of Salvation.

We should always remember that Satan is not pleased when a soul turns towards God. Satan’s desire is to have all souls to serve him and when one of his souls leaves and turns to God then Satan will send out his demons and try to recapture that soul. The True believers of Jesus Christ are in a battle and this war is a spiritual warfare. This battle is between God and Satan and this battle is over the Souls of Mankind. It is up to the Holy Ghost filled person to stand and fight for that soul and when we confront the spirits of demons, then just look around and you will see the angels of God standing beside you. Just as Satan will send forth his demons, God will send forth his Saints and his angels. Even during this battle, the soul must make a choice and choose whom they will believe. It is the duty of Spirit filled believer to cast a safety net around each soul that has gave their life to our Lord Jesus Christ. When a person enters into the Gateway of Calvary and begins their walk on their pathway with Jesus, then the danger from the enemy is great and Satan will come against that newborn person in Christ.

They on the “rock” are those who came to God because of emotions. Too many times their emotions are based upon problems in their life or family, a death in the family, a divorce pending, or some other emotion. When they hear about Jesus Christ then their emotions is elevated and their “hope” of finding a solution will become their driving desire to come to Jesus Christ. These are some of the types of people who are in and out of Church all because they came to Jesus Christ for the wrong reason. Emotions and temptation becomes intertwined with each other and produces an unstable belief. These types of believers are those who have not settled the matter within their mind and have allowed their faith to be controlled by their emotions. A great writer in about 125AD who was on his way to his death by the hands of the Romans said, “Being a Christian is not a matter of opinion but it is a matter of the mind”.

“Fall among thorns.” These people were once full of excitement towards Jesus Christ however they are like to many believers that have become lukewarm in their walk with our Lord Jesus Christ. The cares of this life can be either hardship or a life of pleasure. A believer in Jesus can easily find theirself in a financial hardship, by losing their employment, overspending, or some other way. This can and does in too many instances will replace their “faith” and it will destroy their walk with Jesus Christ. The other care in life is to excel in their status in the community. Their desires will drive them into a higher social standing and in doing so they will find that, Jesus has no place in their life. It is easier to talk about the government, business and sports, family and friends then about Jesus because Jesus is an offensive name among others and living a life of a follower of Jesus does not fit in with the life style of the world. Yet a Church can have many of these types of lukewarm believers who still go to Church in order to appease their conscious.

The ‘good ground,’ are those who have a “love for the truth” and their hearts and minds are upon Jesus. These people will still have all of the same temptations, the same problems, the same hardships and the same desires in life. The only difference is that they are upholding the name of Jesus Christ and they are not ashamed and with boldness, they proclaim the Plan of Salvation and in doing so they produce the “Good Fruits” of their labor.

This parable is the teaching of Jesus and it is also true today because all four different groups of people can be found within a Church house and proclaiming Jesus, only to find that the demons are waiting for the right moment to deceive someone. In looking at these four different types of people who came to Jesus Christ, one must wonder what the Church, which is the Believers, could have done in order to prevent losing those who came to Jesus. We can say that the seed will only grow in good ground, however even bad ground can be changed into good ground that will produce. Even thorns can be removed and the seed can produce. Even rocks can be removed and the seed can grow. Even those on the wayside can be saved, if we can instill belief and fellowship with those who came and heard the words of God.

There is only one solution to this parable and that is preaching the Gospel, prayer meeting, fellowship with one another and studying the “Love of the Truth.’ This is only one of the reasons for the “Believers” in Jesus Christ too always fellowship together and to pull others into their fellowship in the Lord because when a person comes to Jesus they will bring with them all of their problems, hardship, and their burdens of life and it is only the “Love of the Truth” that can carry them through these problems, hardship, and their burden of life. All can become grounded in the “good ground” which is the “Love of the Truth”. When the Truth in Jesus Christ, is implanted into one’s mind, then Faith will grow within that person, even in the face of death.

It is extremely important to always maintain fellowship within the ranks of the believers. More Church services is needed and not less. Maintaining programs that will keep the Saints of our Lord involved in the work of the Lord is very important. Is it not recorded in Hebrews 10:25, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Satan wants to prevent the believers in Christ from fellowshipping together because they can see the “signs of time” and we must assemble ourselves together as we see the day approaching. However too many Pastors and Believers are closing the doors to the Church House and forsaking the assembling of believers. Is it because the believers no longer believe in the soon return of Jesus for his Bride or is it because they have listened to the “whispers of demons” and living in their own illusion of faith.

Satan will create the notion that going to Church three times a week is too much of God and it is uncalled for, however, how much of our time do we give to our Lord. Lets look at a make believe schedule of 168 hours (24 x7). Sunday morning service starts at 9 AM and ends at 12 noon, and Sunday night service starts at 6 PM and ends at 9 PM and if Bible Study on Wednesday night starts at 7PM and ends at 9PM then that is only 8 hours of our time during the week that we are in the House of God. Lets break down the rest of the week and lets say that a person sleeps 8 hours a night that would be 56 hours during a week and if we work 8 hours a day that would be 40 hours during a week. Lets say that we read the bible 2 hours a day then that is 14 hours during a week and if we pray 2 hours a day then that would be 14 hours during the week leaving 36 hours free. Reading the Bible 2 hours a day and praying 2 hours a day and going to Church service 8 hours during the week would add up to 36 hours during the week of our time is towards God. It would be interesting if a person would kept track of the amount of time that they read the bible, the amount of time that they pray and the amount of time that they are at church services and any other work that they give to God. It is sad to say that very few believers will devote 36 hours of worship to the Lord Jesus Christ during the week. The biggest excuse is that we just do not have the time. It is indeed sad because Jesus did take the time to hang on the Cross of Calvary.

Some Church Organizations have helped Satan in destroying one’s faith. They do it with their “By Laws” or “Religious Bondage”. A preacher who was high up in a Church Organization went to play golf for the first time and after the game he said, “God never struck me down so golf is not a sin”. At one time, it was a sin according to their “By Laws” so how can a sin become white washed, is not a sin still a sin. There was a time that watching or having a television set in your home was a sin according to their ‘By Laws” and today it is no longer a sin. According to some “By Laws” a woman must have long hair and not to cut it, and not to ware any jewelry or makeup and must ware a dress. Even a man must ware only long sleeves shirts and no jewelry, have short hair and no beard and mustache. These are “By Laws” or “Religious Bondage” that are unfounded.

The Spirit of God pulls a lost soul into the Church and the “By Laws” of that Church drives them away. How will these Pastors and Church Board members answer to Jesus on the day of Judgement? What will be there excuses for the soul that they drove away? Their “By Laws” or “Religious Bondage” are nothing more than a man made dictatorship of control and it is an illusion of faith. Sin will never change but people will change with time. However, with “By Laws” and “Religious Bondage”, the “yoke” around one’s faith is chocked out and a soul is reclaimed by Satan. How will they explain this to our Lord?

A lot of these by-laws come from not understanding the Bible. The Epistle in the New Testament was written to established believers, which is the Church, but every epistle was written for a reason and one must understand the reasoning behind each epistle and the entire context of the letter. To pick and choose which verses one wants to believe without understanding is being deceived.

Creating ones own pathway.

Some of the Christian religions will try to create their own pathways and in doing so they have entered the pathway called the “Broadway” for this pathway will allow them to modernize the teaching of Jesus Christ, the Apostles and Prophets. This kind of pathway will lure Christians into a false sense of righteousness and enable the tools that Satan will use against other people who are considering the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan will use these Christians who are walking on the Broadway of demons and the sinner will look at them and say, “There is no differences between their life style and my life style”. Too many Christians are living a life style of unbelief and going to Church on Sunday and confessing their sins to a priest or shaking the preachers hand and leaving the Church and returning to the life style of the world who will lead them deeper into sin.

There are indeed many pathways of life to walk upon and many decisions that must be made. Each pathway has its own faith and its own belief. These faiths and beliefs can be handed down from generation to generation. These different faiths and beliefs will come from, hearing, reading, and understanding ones own viewpoints. Everyone has his or her own faith and belief, whether it is belief in a god or believing in one’s own self. There are those who know that they are walking on the wrong pathway of life, there are those who believe that they are on the correct pathway of life, and there are those who will disregard any viewpoints of a pathway of life. However, to a Christian, their faith and belief must be grounded upon the Rock of Salvation, which is the Lord Jesus Christ and none other. A Christian must walk the narrow and straight pathway for there is no other pathway for those who are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ to walk upon. Let not Satan and his demons entice you with an illusion of faith.