WHICH WAY?

"Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.

For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Matthew 7

She woke up, and looked out the window at a huge, blood-red moon. The floor was trembling. From off in the distance came a deep rumbling, deeper than thunder. Panicked voices could be heard in the street below.

Two strange figures stood at the foot of her bed. They looked exactly alike.

"Come with me," said the one on the left in a voice as smooth as silk.

"Come with me," said the one on the right with pleading urgency.

She sensed that one of those figures was good, that the other was evil. But which was which? Whom could she trust?

"I cannot stay here. I have to leave, but with whom?"

"It's time to decide," said the figure on the left.

"Quickly, come with me," urged the one on the right.

"Why do they look identical? Why can't I tell which one is evil, and which is good?"

Suddenly her mind cleared, and she was certain that the one on right was the one to trust. She found herself walking with this Stranger on a road that took them right through the smoke and fire, across the trebling earth toward a gleaming light in the far distance. They were on a road she had never seen before. A good road. For all the confusion around her, her heart was at peace. Still, she kept hearing that other voice urging her to turn aside and follow him. And she knew that she would have to be on guard against that other voice to the end of her journey.

It was the feast of the Dedication at Jerusalem;
it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon.
So the Jewish leaders gathered round him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly."

John 10

Is he good, or is he evil? His power--- is it from God or from Satan? You would think that it would be obvious, watching him heal the sick, listening to his words that sent a chill down the spine. Yet these religious men were having trouble with the very words that Jesus spoke.

There was again a division among the Jewish leaders because of these words.

Many of them said, "He has a demon, and he is mad; why listen to him?"
Others said, "These are not the sayings of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

John 10

These men could not stand around and argue forever whether Jesus was good or evil. Because once Jesus breaks in on your life, it's the eleventh hour. The clock is ticking toward midnight. You have to decide which way you're going to go.

No matter how wise we may think we are, or how foolish we may actually be, the most important issue each of us has to face every day of our lives is the choice between two ways: the way of Good and the way of Evil. Every decision we make, every relationship we form, every dollar we spend turns on one simple choice: who are you going to follow? Which road are you going to take?

There are so many voices out there that claim to be telling the truth, who insist that their road is the right road. But all the roads in the world boil down to only two possible ways: the Broad Way or the Narrow Way. And once the clock starts ticking, we have to choose which one we're going to take. But how can we know which one is good, which one is evil?

No wonder Jesus tells us to beware of false prophets. No wonder he keeps warning us to stay awake and pay attention. For the clock is ticking. Very soon there is going to be an accounting. And each of us has to figure out which voice we're going to follow, which road we're going to take.

Now you may think, as many do, that we're all going to make it in the end---that everybody's on their way to heaven. Have you ever been to a funeral where this rosy outlook was questioned? Have you ever been to a funeral where it was not all sweetness and light? But if you listen carefully to the Lord, if you pay attention to your own conscience, you know that there is a road that leads to Darkness. If we insist on traveling that road, God himself will not violate our will, and his sad, final word to us will be, "Have it your way."

To make things even more confusing, that road to Darkness looks pretty good. And the smooth voice that says, "Come this way," sounds like an angel. It tells us the very thing we want to hear. It knows the doctrines. It knows how to be "spiritual." So how are we supposed to figure out that those soothing words are actually deadly?

And when God calls us to take the Narrow Road, we say to ourselves, "Wait a minute! I'm not ready to go that far. What guarantee do I have that this is really the Road to Life?"

So the Lord counsels us to be wise as serpents.

Take heed that no one leads you astray.

Beware of false prophets.

"Be on your guard," he says, "against three voices which promise fulfillment, but are actually luring you on the road to Darkness."

Three voices:

The false prophet.

The religious nit-picker.

The complacent priest.

Watch out for the false prophet.

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?
So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit.
A sound tree cannot bear evil 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.
Matthew 7

He's a great speaker. She has a huge following. Everybody's reading their latest book. But are they walking the walk or just talking the talk? And what is their famous ministry actually producing? Servants of the Kingdom? Or another herd of religious groupies clinging to their favorite "Chrstian celebrity."

Secondly, watch out for the religious nit-picker

Jesus' description of a religious nit-picker:

"You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!"

Matthew 23

Always picking at the little things, and ignoring the things that really matter. Religious nit-pickers are forever laying down rules, making sure we keep the Sabbath by their standards, and checking to see if we are "doctrinally sound."

If you abide by their rules, you get their blessing. But what about God's simple law of liberty? What about the simple command to love God with all our heart, and our neighbor as ourselves? Where is your heart when you walk with those nit-pickers? What about that attitude? What about that venom pouring out of your mouth? Don't let those people turn you into a nit-picker like themselves.

Finally, beware of the complacent priest.

The complacent priest offers us "spiritual security" at bargain prices, so long as we honor him or her as the official chaplain of our little religious club.

They love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, and salutations in the market places, and being called Rabbi" (---or "Pastor," or "Father" or "Reverend".)

Keep them happy, and they'll promise you a good seat in heaven. But what road are these nice smiling souls actually leading you down? Is theirs a voice you can trust with your life?

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." John 10

If your heart is open, he will enable you to hear his voice. You will know which path to take. You'll figure it out, just like that woman did, when she saw those two Strangers standing at the foot of her bed.

And once she decided which Stranger was the one to follow, she didn't just lie there. She got out of bed and started moving.

There are lots of people who claim to hear the Master's voice and claim to believe in him. But when he says, "Follow me," nothing happens. They make promises, resolutions. They "give their lives to the Lord" a hundred times. But nothing changes.

Nothing ever changes for any of us until we make a start---until we take that first step of faith in answer to the Master's call. Peter left his boat. Mary Magdalene walked away from her demons. Matthew kissed his tax office good bye and followed the Master. And every day, from then on, they kept choosing the Narrow Road and taking that next step of faith.

If we don't know what that next step is, all we have to do is ask the Lord. He'll show us some simple thing to be done.

Some change to be made.

Someone to forgive.

Someone to be helped.

Some wrong in our lives that needs to be made right.

And the moment we take that simple step, we're on our way. We're on the road that leads to life.

"Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.

For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Only God knows what chaos lies ahead for this world in the coming days. Only God knows how much time each of us has left to walk this earth. But one thing is for sure: every day we live, we're choosing between two roads.

Jesus says: "Leave your old life behind, and follow me all the way, and I will teach you how to love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind. And you will live."

That other voice says, "Come with me, and I'll fulfill every dream you ever had."

For all the noise and clatter in the world around us, for all the voices that call us to follow, there are only two roads. Once the clock starts ticking, it's time to choose. And every day, every hour, we choose again.

God help us to stay focused on the Shepherd's voice and to keep following him on the Road that leads to life.

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. And no one shall snatch them out of my hand."

John 10