Turn if you would this morning back to Matthew chapter seven. I know we was there last week. We even read these verses as part of our reading last week. But I wanted to go backwards. We looked last week, if you remember, we looked at verses 23 and 24, where Christ professed, or excuse me, verses 21 through 23, where Christ said that not everyone that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. He that doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven, And many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, in thy name cast out devils, in thy name done many wonderful works, and then will I professed in them. And here's what we dealt with last week. I never knew you, depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

We looked at that last week and we seen in that that the pivoting point in this on who received eternal life and who doesn't receive eternal life, those who the Lord has looked upon and said, you know, that, that, you know, depart from me, I never knew you. All that hinges upon a relationship or union with Christ Jesus. where he says, I never knew you, he never did say, I never did see your works, or those works that you said professed to do weren't really good works. He never did deal anything with what they did. He dealt with who they were. They were never known. They were never people that he had come, not come to know, that he had never loved before the foundation of the world. They had never come to know Him, because He never did first love them. He never did grant to them faith to see, to understand, faith to receive, believe. They never received those things.

Now, they had a zeal for God, but it wasn't according to knowledge. They had a lot of religious works, but in those religious works, they thought, as proved right here, they thought those religious works would be what God would accept them by. Because whenever he got up there and said, you know, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? You know, haven't we done that? Haven't we done all these things? Shouldn't you be accepting us in because we've done all that in your name? And he said, depart from me, I never knew you.

Now, I want to back up and look at the 13th and 14th verse that Jesus spoke before he got down to that. Not because I think Jesus preached this in the wrong order. I would never dare say that. But because I think now that we have the clarity of 21 through 24 or 23 from last week, we can kind of see what Jesus meant in 13 and 14. Because 13 and 14, what's being dealt with here is actually pretty, pretty commonly misused, I believe, especially among Arminian teaching that I grew up preaching and teaching and my thoughts on these things.

But let's go ahead and read 13 and 14 and then we'll kind of dive into this. Jesus speaking here says, enter ye in at the straight gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in there at. Because straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it.

Now growing up and the preaching and the teaching and the understanding that I had of this verse is there are two ways set before us. There is the narrow way and there is the broad way. The broad way is this way that is illustrious, that is enticing. that feels good, it's a way that seems right to us, and is drawing us, and many people are, that is so wide and everything, and so many people are traveling on that road, and they're following on that road because they're following after the lust of their heart, and the desires of their heart, and they choose to go on this way, and they don't choose this one because this path is narrow. It's straight, it's rigid, rigorous, You got to keep God's law. You got to follow all these rules. And a lot of people don't want to follow rules. They want to do what they want to do. And so many people don't choose the narrow way because the narrow way is too strict. And they choose this wider path that's easier and more entertaining, more fun, more wonderful.

And so there's this choice laid out before these people, either the broad way or the narrow way. There are few that find the narrow way because they're not looking, they're not after it, okay? So those are some of my thoughts, how I used to believe this and preach this. And I would preach this as a conditional verse. You need to enter in to the straight gate. He's telling you, enter in at the straight gate, go this way, don't go that way. Again, a choice left to us to do. It's a decision that we must make. Narrow, broad, straight, crooked. I would look at this at verse 14 and say, narrow is the way which leads to another life and few there be that find it. So there we are, we have to find our way to this narrow way. So I need to study, I need to look, I need to find out what God's will is. And when I find out what God's will is, I need to walk that way.

But brethren, as I've come to understand and believe, and I think that it actually coincides with the rest of scripture, because what I just said does not hold water whenever you look at the context of the rest of scripture. Salvation is never left up to a condition that we must keep. Salvation was something that's accomplished. Therefore, the preaching of the gospel to those who will listen and hear is not an offer. It's not a this or that gospel. It's not an either or gospel. It's not a do this or do that, whatever you choose gospel. It is something that is declared. The gospel is something that is declared, not offered. It's not an invitation.

I know a lot of people, whenever they come to our church, they probably maybe kind of question in their mind because they're so used to all the other churches that you go to, which I grew up in a church that did this and have been involved in a lot of churches that do this. But one of the things that a lot of people, especially visitors that we've had over the years that might come and visit, One of the things that they seem to ask whenever they're asking questions about our church, they're considering coming to be a member of our church then, is, well, we have a question. How come you never give an invitation after the end of your message? How come you never invite people to come to Christ?

Well, this is the reason why. We don't have invitations because number one, invitations are man-made things that entered into the church late in the 1800s or so. There never was invitations given after a church service from the 1800s all the way back to Christ. They didn't have invitation service. The invitational system came in whenever Finney and whenever Wesley and whenever all these men came in with this conditional gospel and it began to infiltrate the church, then they made the gospel something that was an invitation and an offer, not a declaration as it was seen throughout all of church history. And so the invitational system is a new product that isn't even found anywhere in scripture. Nowhere in scripture is anyone invited to come. Okay? So the invitational system is not biblical. That's one of the reasons why we don't do it.

Number two, the invitational system is erroneous in the fact that salvation is not something that you choose. So that I don't have any grounds to stand and offer and invite you to something that I don't control or you don't control. The invitational system implies that God has done something and is offering it to you and is inviting you to come and take it and it will be yours if you respond But if you don't respond, what God has done for you will not be applied to you and will not be enjoyed by you or known by you. And in the end, you will see destruction based upon your choice, whether to come or not to come.

But see, that goes against every part of the Bible, Old Testament and New Testament, that teaches that salvation was a completed thing from the foundation of the world. It was something that was already done before the foundation of the world, and those folks who God has chosen to love and to give salvation to, and those who he has not, has already been set. That whenever Christ died, he died only for those that was given to him. And the declaration of the gospel is just that. It's the declaration of the salvation of God's people. And the only ones who hear that and understand that and believe that and rejoice in that and have hope in that are those whom God has given to Christ before the foundation of the world to be the representative for. And those to whom Christ sends his spirit into to have faith to believe that. That's what the gospel is.

So to have an invitation or offer of a gospel is contrary to the scriptural principle of what salvation actually is. Salvation is a finished work completed outside of us, already granted to the people of God. They're not waiting for it. Matter of fact, I wrote a song this week and posted it on Facebook. And one of the things that I mentioned at the end of that song is, that the verdict has never been something that has been waiting for. The verdict isn't something that God is waiting on. It's always been finished. It's always been eternal. God's verdict upon his people, his verdict upon the reprobate has been set from the foundation of the world. It's not waiting.

Now, How does this pertain to 13 and 14? Well, brethren, I believe that what Christ is doing here, he is not soliciting people for salvation. Come on to the narrow way, come over here. He's not like standing as a traffic guard there at the Y and saying, hey, don't go that way, come this way. He's not trying to solicit people onto the narrow way. No, Christ is describing that which God has already declared. God is not appealing to man's ability to do something, but he is telling of an authoritative thing that describes the reality of God's decree that he has already given. God has already decreed who will be on this path. All Christ is doing is describing the two ways and the ones who are put on this path and the ones who are put on this path. The children of grace are brought and put on this path and brought this way. The rest have this path to lead. And this is the path of God. And by the way, God has chosen both those paths. God has chosen both that. So Christ is basically declaring what is according to God's eternal purpose, not what we as fallen human beings decide or choose by our nature. So it's a descriptive thing. It's not a conditional thing.

Look at verse 14. Because straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it. There's no condition in there. If you will get on the narrow way, it will lead you to life if you find it. It doesn't say that. It's a descriptive thing.

Verse 13, wide is the gate, broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in there at. That's a descriptive thing. It's not a conditional. It doesn't say if you go on this broad path, it's gonna lead you to destruction. It wasn't an if there. This is just as descriptive in 13 and 14. as it was whenever God told Adam, in the day there eateth thereof, thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. It wasn't an if condition. It was a statement of fact. It was a descriptive thing. It was Christ telling what God has already eternally purposed before the foundation of the world.

Now, let's look at these verses here and see what is the subject matter. What is the straight gate? Number one, whenever some people see S-T-R-A-I-T, they kind of wig out, what is that? Because we spell straight differently, right? But it still means the same thing. Enter you in at the straight gate, the narrow gate. It's a gate that is, that is a narrow, particular gate. Now, who or what is this gate? Grace gate. Now, a lot of people think that this gate is the church. It's not the church. Some people think it's baptism. Not baptism. Some people think it's law-keeping. Not law-keeping. No, brethren, I put forth that this straight gate that is being talked about here is Jesus Christ himself. It's Christ alone. He is the gate.

Look, if you would, with me over at John chapter 10. And look at verse seven. It says, then Jesus said to them again, verily, verily, I said unto you, saying to you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door, by me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. If you'll notice there, he says, I am the door. If any man enter into me, he didn't say that. He didn't say if any man will just enter. He said by me, if any man entered, that means it's an act of Christ to bring the sheep in through the door. who he himself is. He is the door. He is the one who brings you into him.

Now, just a side note. It says here that I am the door by me. If any man enter in, he shall be saved. So the act or the work or the reason that any man comes in, enters in, and is put on that path is because Jesus has placed him there. Jesus has put him there. And the only reason that they've been put there is because they are related or united to Christ Jesus.

Look, if you would, also at John chapter 14. Look through the verse six. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, the life. No man cometh unto the father, but by me. No man comes to God, to the kingdom of God, except by me. Jesus Christ. Now some people say or think that Jesus is saying there that no man comes to the father except by coming to me. Meaning that you have the will to decide to come to me and by your faith you reach out and you believe upon me and therefore by your faith you're justified and by your faith I give you salvation eternal life. See, that's the mentality. It's all a condition. It's all something that you must do. But Jesus didn't say that. He said, I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life. No man cometh to the father but by me. And if you couple that with what we just read in John 10, seven, he says, I'm the door of the sheep. And only those that come in, they come in by me, by his word. by his doing, not by yours, not by anything that you do. So Christ is the gate and that is Christ alone for salvation. That's what Christ is teaching here.

When he says, enter ye in at the straight gate, he is saying that I am the door and those who enter in by me or by my work, by my doing, by my bringing them or putting them on this path, he says, leads to life, and few there be that find it." So, brethren, we reject any kind of idea that this gate is some sort of a, just a abstract gate that you can choose to go in. No, this gate is a person, and you don't enter in by choice. So Christ here is teaching us a principle. The principle is that anybody that is on this narrow path has been put there by him, by him.

Now, if you would turn to John chapter 10 again, Jesus has already said that he is the door of the sheep, and all that came before him were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them, that he is the door, and by him, if any man enter. Now I know the word if is there, right? But just because the word if is somewhere does not imply conditions that you keep. It's a statement of fact, right? If I make the statement, if everyone is here for church today, the house is full. That wasn't a condition, that's a statement of fact. That the house is full when everybody is here. Well, this is what Jesus is saying here. I am the door, if any man enter in, He shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture.

Now, in verse 20, 25, John 10, verse 25, Jesus said this, I told you and you believed not the works that I do in my father's name, they bear witness of me. but ye believe not because ye are not of my sheep as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice and I know them. Now that goes along with what we talked about last week. I know them. I have an eternal relation to them. They have been given to me. God has given them to me. I am their surety. I am their covenant. head, I am their father, I am their husband, they are mine, I know them. He says, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give unto them, I give unto them eternal life.

Now we just said, we just seen, now bear with me, put your hand there in John 10 where we're at, but look back at verse 14, Straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give unto them eternal lives. Who is the one that put them on the path to which eternal life is the end? It's Jesus, brethren, the gate in verse 13 and the gate in verse 14 is Jesus. The door in John chapter 10 is Jesus. And we see that it is by Jesus that we are put on that path. It's not a chosen path. It is a purposed, determined, elected path that God has put us on. Why? Because we are his sheep.

While we're there, let me just backtrack on this part and point out again, as I have many times in the past, look at the phrasing of verse 26. But ye believe not because. Now, if I say that something is something because, what does that mean? The reason that something has happened is the consequence of something else, right? That's what that word because means. Okay? Ye believe not. Why? Because ye are not my sheep.

Now, how often do you hear on the radio, on TV, just about every, corner in town that bears the name of a church, do you hear people say that if you will believe on Jesus, you will be his sheep? As if you were a goat before, and when you believed, you turned into a sheep. No, no, no, brethren. The sheep and the goat have never changed places. The goat never becomes sheep. The sheep never can become a goat. The sheep have always been sheep. However, the sheep have been lost. But Christ finds His sheep and sets them in the narrow way.

Christ is the one who finds his sheep because he knows them. And whenever he calls to them, they know his voice because they're his.

Now brethren, that isn't something that we do in dust. It isn't something that we do in the flesh. It isn't something that we do in Adam because the fleshly man can't hear spiritual things. It is that child of God that is in us. So first we must be born from above. That is a work, divine work of God. We don't born ourselves from above. That's something that's done by God. So God first has to cause us to be born from above, give us spiritual life, put that seed in us. Once that seed is in us, the Bible tells us that the spirit discerns the things of the spirit. Because they're spiritually discerned, you have to be spiritual. So he makes us spiritual. Once he makes us spiritual, then we have spiritual ears. We have spiritual eyes. We have spiritual heart and an understanding that is now awakened to spiritual things. And so whenever Christ calls, we hear his voice.

Why? Number one, we're his children. We're his wife. We belong to him. And so whenever We would go into stores sometimes. We may not be in the same aisle. My kids might be on another aisle, or I'd be on another, or their mom would be on the other aisle. We could call to our kids, say, hey, where you at? They'd come over. How? How did they know to come to us? Why didn't they go to John Doe over there on the other aisle? Because they knew our voice. Why? Well, they were our kids. They knew our voice. I could tell my wife's voice if we were in a store somewhere. I know my wife's voice. I know my kids' voice. There's a relationship that's already been established and we know each other. I know him and he knows me. That's what Christ is saying here. You believe not because you are not my sheep. You don't recognize my voice.

" What did he say to them? He also said to them, you believe not because you are not mine. You're not my sheep. You are of your father. Him you hear, him you will follow. See, the child of grace follows their father, which is Christ. The reprobate follows their father, which is Satan. His voice they hear. The reason they were all liars, Christ said, those who came before me were thieves and robbers. The reason they were such is because that's who their father is. The reason those who believe and follow in the narrow way, the reason they do so is because that's their father. The father has placed them on this path.

But notice it says here, ye believe not because ye are not my sheep. So the believing comes because you are his sheep, not the other way around. You don't become his sheep by believing. It just totally turns the false gospels of this world on its head. Upside down, it's backwards. They're preaching completely opposite of scripture. And he says, I give unto them, his sheep. Now remember, his sheep doesn't change. They weren't goats that became sheep, right? He says, I give unto them eternal life. So that means that the giving of this way, the giving of or bringing into this gate or this door is only to a select, elect group of people. It's a particular people.

people, right? I know my sheep, my sheep hear my voice, they follow me. He says, I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My father which gave them me is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hands. And then he leads with this fact, I and my father are one. The fact that you can't be removed from the Father is because you can't be removed from me. If you can't be removed from me, you will make it to the Father. Why? Because I am the Father in one. I am the Father in one.

The purpose of God manifested in the flesh is to be the surety the representative to be the head of his people. Christ was brought into flesh to be the one in whom he reveals the Father. The reason Christ came manifested in flesh is to be the one who would pay the purchase price to bring those lost sheep back to him. Remember we talked last week about there can't be a redemption unless there is a prior relationship. We were his before we ever fell in Adam. We were already his. And so whenever we fell in Adam, Christ has come to redeem us back to him. And he did that by manifesting himself in flesh and becoming our sin bearer in flesh and blood. He became like as unto us so that he could represent us so that he could take us back to himself, back to the father, back to God, where we came from.

He says, the Father has given them to me. God has chosen a people and he has chosen to bring those people and represent those people and stand for those people and save those people through himself. And he did that by coming into the flesh. That's why I kept saying that us, once we become Christians, is not showing people what God is like. Because we cannot do that. We are showing a poor God whenever we do that. No matter how good you are, or how holy you think you are, it was Christ that came to reveal the Father. And He does so through Himself. Because He and the Father are one. That's why He told Philip, you've seen me, you've seen the Father. I am manifesting what God is like to you, my people, so that you can have a relationship with this holy God that you could never transcend yourself to, to experience a relationship with.

This gate is straight and this path is narrow and you would never go on it because this is the path by nature that you are always going to walk on. The narrow way is your nature in Adam. So unless I do something for you, you will never find this. And so what does he do? He comes in flesh, he makes God known, he redeems his people, and then by his spirit, sending his spirit, who is himself the comforter, sends him, and that comforter leads us to eternal life. teaches us of the Father through Christ. We only learn of God through the one mediator between God and man.

So I give unto them eternal life. So with that being said, there is only one way. There's not many. I don't know how many of y'all have ever heard or seen. They even had a meme about it at one time. Oprah Winfrey one time said that there are many ways to God. By the way, Billy Graham also preached that same doctrine, that there are many ways to God. For all you Billy Graham lovers, he was a false teacher and a false gospel preacher who preached that God could be approached and people could come to God even though they may never have known Jesus. There's no difference in what He preached, and what conditionalist primitive Baptists are preaching. Some people may come to God because they're elect. Now, Billy Graham wouldn't have said because they were elect, but old-line primitive Baptist conditionalists, they will say they may be eternally elect, but never come to know Jesus, never believe the gospel, never know anything.

Now, there's not many ways to Christ. He said narrow is the way. So that means there's only one way. Look if you would at John 14 again. Just read it. Want to reemphasize it again. Jesus said, I am the way. He didn't say I was one of the ways, or I am the way among many. He didn't say that. He says, I am the way, that's exclusive to him and him only. But he didn't say, I am the way that you must choose. I am the way that you must decide for. Because if you remember, He ended it with, but by me. No man comes to the father, but by me. No one knows the father. No one comes to love the father. No one comes to rejoice and actually physically come to the father, but by me.

Now, brethren, to me, whenever I read that, that destroys every notion that there are other ways to God. Well, if you'll just be a good person, you can get to God. No, no one comes to the Father but by me. Well, I can live my whole entire life and never believe the gospel. No one comes to the Father but by me. And he says, I am the way and the truth and the life. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me." Not come to Buddha, not come to the Hindu gods, not come to Joseph Smith, not come to Benny Hinn, not come to Arminian Jesus. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me.

Who is the me in question? The way, the truth, the life, the straight gate, the one who is God manifested in the flesh. He says, if you had known me, you should have known my father also. And from henceforth, you know him and have seen him. If you have seen Christ, you've seen the father. If you have come to Christ or in Christ, you're on your way to see the father, to know the father. We grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what we learn in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ is that he is the one God manifested in the flesh. That he is the one revealing himself, the invisible God. To know the invisible God is to know the man Jesus Christ. And to know the man Jesus Christ is to know the invisible God. You can't know one unless you know the other, because He and the Father are one.

He is the gate, narrow is the way, few there be that find it. So brethren, the narrowness of this is sovereignly ordained. Only those who have been given to Christ, only those who are brought by Him are coming That way, look with me if you would at Matthew chapter 13. Matthew chapter 13. I want to kind of reinforce this thought Jesus again here is speaking. Jesus had just, matter of fact, whenever you go back, Jesus had just taught them the parable of the seeds. Verse 10, the disciples came and said unto him, why speak thou unto them in parables? Now, Arminian Mike would have answered this. Well, Jesus spoke to them in parables so they could understand. They weren't understanding his spiritual things that he was saying, so he got down into ABC 123 language and give them an illustration. It's always good to give them an illustration. You always know a good Southern Baptist sermon because there's always gonna be a good illustration, an old Shep story, and a few verses taken out of context. Now, at least let me say that applies to old Mike Smith, okay? I'm not gonna place that on anybody else but old Mike Smith. And I did hear it from a lot of evangelists in the Southern Baptist Convention though, but I don't mean to be down on anybody. I shouldn't really be talking like that.

And the disciples came and said to him, why speakest thou unto them in parables, brethren, it wasn't so that they would understand. Look at verse 11. He answered and said to them, because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them, it is not given.

Wait a minute, wait a minute, Mike. I thought God wanted everybody to be safe. I thought Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. He loves everybody. and wants everybody to be saved. So why wouldn't he want them to know the gospel? Why wouldn't he want them to know the mysteries of the kingdom? That's not, obviously you've misread that and you've taken that out of context because we know that God is not willing that any should perish, but all come to repentance. Therefore, Jesus obviously didn't mean that.

Brethren, if there's any place in scripture where we see that one verse overrides the other verse, where one verse sheds light upon that other verse, if Jesus said he is not willing that any should perish, but over here, he said that he is willing that some be shown and some not be shown, for some to be given eyes to see and some to remain in blindness so that they will not be converted, If God is giving that light, that light now shined upon he is not willing that any should perish, obviously that would be a contradiction. But it's not a contradiction.

Whenever you look at not willing that any should perish in context is referring to the elect. He's not willing that the brethren, that his brothers in Christ, those that are his, He is our elder brother, we are the younger. He is our head, we are his people. That is who is in context. When you trace it back to the first letter of Peter, Peter writes to the elect according to the foreknowledge of God. The foreknowledge, those who he knew before the foundation of the world. The elect before the foundation of the world was who he is writing to. That is who he is not willing that any should perish.

Why? Because in Christ Jesus, he is purposed and determined that they should find the way. He is purposed that they shall be put in the narrow path that leads to life. That they be given faith to believe and to hope on Jesus Christ. Look at what he says, because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given, for whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance, but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables, because they seeing see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. and in them is fulfilled the prophecy.

" Here it is, in them. The reason I'm doing this is because, so they will not see, so they will not hear, to fulfill the prophecy to Isaiah. Now let's stop and think about that a minute. What was the prophecy to Isaiah? He's fixing to quote it, but let's talk about it for a minute. Any prophecy that's given to the Old Testament prophets, all that was, was a foretelling of what God had already purposed in eternity. He was letting them in on his eternal purpose and telling them what his purpose is. They were foretelling to the people what God's purpose is and what was going to happen that God had already determined.

Again, the verdict is never waiting. It has always been finished. The verdict of who would believe and who would not believe is already there. The verdict of who was going to be on the narrow and who was going to be on the wide was already there. The verdict of who was the sheep and who was the goat is already there. The verdict of who was going to hear and understand was already there.

Therefore speak I unto them in parables, because they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which said, by hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see and shall not perceive.

Brethren, I'm telling you, this is what these religious people that Jesus was talking about last week in verses 21 down to 24, 23, wherever we went, that was saying, did we not, did we not, did we not? They are the religious people who see, but they see not. They hear, but they hear not. They see a false Jesus, they hear a false gospel. And they follow a false religious system. And they are on the path that leads to destruction. And they cannot see any other thing unless they be of God and if they be of God, they will not continue on that path, they will be brought to this other path.

He says, for the people's heart is waxed gross and their ears are dull of hearing and their eyes they have closed, lest any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and should understand with their heart and should be converted and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes. See, it didn't have anything to do with your decision or your efforts. It was because God blessed you by him are your eyes that see. By him are your ears that hear.

For verily I say unto you that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see and have not seen them and to hear those things which ye hear and have not heard them. Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. Then he goes on and explains to them parable of the sower.

But brethren, we see here that the reason that some find it and some don't find it isn't because of a choice that was made by them. It is because knowledge and faith and repentance is a gift of God. It's a divine gift, not an autonomous decision that we have in ourselves. If you are given to know, to given to see, to given to understand, God's grace is particular. It's not general in nature.

So Christ doesn't just merely make salvation possible, but he actually secures it. So that's why we see in 13 and 14, he secures it because he is the gate. He is the shepherd. We are his sheep. And by him, we are put in this way. But what is he a gate for? Have you ever thought about that? What is it that he's the gate for? Well, there are several things that he is the gate for. One of the things that we see is that he is definitely the gate to heaven. No man comes to the father physically, but by me. He is the gate to heaven. I mean, we talk about the pearly gates and everything. And a lot of times, you know, we kind of talk a lot fun and jokes and stuff about things that happen at the pearly gate, but if you want to get down to it, Jesus said that he is the gate. And no man gets through that gate, in that gate, on that path, and what's at the end of that path, except he comes through that gate. And he's the one that is the gate, and he is the one who brings you through the gate. So he is the gate to heaven.

The Bible says that we have every right as his children to enter into the Holy of Holies. He is the gate into the Holy of Holies. We can enter in to the very presence of God. We have communion with God through Christ. Whenever you pray, you don't have to go to a priest to pray. You don't have to come to the pastor to pray. You don't have to ask other people to pray for you. Not saying that you don't ask other people to pray for you. Rather not.

Prayer, again, prayer is something that God does in the work of the heart for us. It isn't something that we do to get God to answer our pleas, to get him to change his mind about something, okay? Prayer is always God working in us a dependence upon him. He puts within our mind what to pray. The Spirit works within us to give utterance of those things that we couldn't utter. He puts within our heart the things to pray. And those things that we pray according to His will, guess what? He answers those things. If they're not according to His purpose, He doesn't. And in not answering those things, in bringing us to pray for things that are outside of His will, He teaches us dependence upon him, that his grace is sufficient through all those things that you are praying that will be changed when he doesn't change.

But he says here that he is the entrance into that holy of holies. We come through by him. By him, we approach the throne of God boldly. He is also the gate to the church. You can't be a member of the church unless you come by him. Jesus said, I will build my church. He is the one who is building the church. It's not us by our efforts building the church. He builds the church. He is the one who adds to the church. His entrance or our entrance into the church is by him, this local congregation.

we come to him, to this local congregation, and are gathered together by him. He has gathered those that are here today. If we are his, he has gathered us together. Because we are his, and because we are his, he brought us together. We didn't do that on our own, even though we may think we did. Larry may think Oh, hey, I heard about this church up in Joplin that we didn't know about at first. And then we went there and now all of a sudden here we are coming to there. You know what? God brought that to him, gathered them here. Mike didn't come to this church because all of a sudden there was no pastor up here. And by way of several people, I come to know that there was, you know, a need up here. And I decided to start coming up here and filling in the pulpit. And then all of a sudden the church asked me to be their pastor, and I had a decision, yes or no?

No, God brought me here. No matter what decision was made by us, man devises his ways, but God directed the steps. God did all the ordering. He brought us each and every step. Christ is the gate to the church, to the elect, He's the gate to the Father, to the throne of God. He's the gate to eternal life. Straight is the gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in there at. Because straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it.

Brethren, this is a statement of fact by our Lord who is telling us exactly how we come to be on one path or on the other. Not a choice or decision of ours. So we give glory unto God for his sovereign work, for his sovereign salvation. Because if it wasn't for Christ, we would be on this path. We would be walking the wide path, the broad way, and be leading to destruction. The only reason anybody is not on this path is because God in His grace and in His mercy and in His love has lifted us and put us here. To Him be glory and honor.

All right. Anybody got any questions or comments? Any questions? Corrections or rebukes? Do you brothers got anything that you'd like to share today?

All right, let's pray. Oh, don't forget, 31st, last Saturday of this month, fifth Saturday meeting, gonna be held over at the church in Delaware, Oklahoma. It starts at 10 o'clock. Found out the time, it's gonna start at 10 a.m. If you wanna come, we're gonna go over there and they'll be preaching in the morning, they'll provide lunch, then we'll have preaching in the afternoon. If you wanna go, let me know, I'll get you all the details on directions. And if you all want to caravan, we can caravan from here and you can follow us that everybody knows how to get there. We will be meeting over there and fellowship with those that are there. Anyway, that's January 31st. Yeah, not this Saturday, but next Saturday. First Baptist Church of Delaware is the name of the church, by the way. Not your typical First Baptist Church, by the way.

All right, anybody else got anything? Have I forgotten anything?

All right, let's pray. Father, once again, we come to you thanking you for Christ. We're thanking you for salvation. We're thanking you for all that you have done. Lord, we just ask that you might be with us again this week as we leave this place, that you might grow us in the grace and knowledge of your son, Christ. We pray that we might be given to know the mysteries of the kingdom as you reveal them to us. Father, we know that the purpose of these sayings of Christ was never given to us as a condition. but to bring us comfort and to humble us before your throne as our sovereign Lord. And so Lord, we just pray that as we read these things and as we see these things, that the precious spirit of God might grant unto us, not only the understanding of them, but the enjoyment of them, that we might rest in these things, that we might find comfort in these things, that we might be blessed by what you have declared. and what you have included us in, in the grace and the mercy that you have extended upon us.

Father, may we never become so prideful because of our standing with you. May the preaching of the gospel in its particular nature, Lord, may it always be something that drives us to humility and it might always exalt and glorify and honor you and not us. The Father, I thank you for these brethren who love this gospel and rest in this gospel and find comfort in this gospel. And may you continue to always keep us in the faith. May you always keep this church, Father, in glory and in Christ and him alone. May you keep us from error. May you keep us in the truth. Lord, may you give us safety as we leave this place. Thank you again for gathering us again today. We ask it all in Christ's name, amen.