The Gate Key
Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Christ had been to see John the Baptist at the Jordon River where John was calling the people to repentance and baptizing them with water. Christ was baptized by John, and then led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness where He fasted for 40 days and nights. When Christ was physically hungry and weak, Satan approached Him with three great temptations. Christ rebuked Satan all three times with the Word of God, and Satan left Him. Then God sent angels to minister to Christ and strengthen Him. Christ left the wilderness and began His ministry with the same call to repentance as John the Baptist had preached. History was forever changed.
God has begun to press on me the realization of those who are truly lost without a true heart for Him. Not only those who have not heard, but those who sit in the pews every Sunday for an hour; yet live for themselves the entire week. Church attendance will never open heavens gates for you. There is nowhere in the Bible that says it will. The key to heavens gate lies within your heart, and not your head. The key is a humble repentant heart, a plea for forgiveness, and the acceptance of Christ as the only way. If there is no other evidence in your life of Christ than Sunday mornings, you have dead faith. James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. A heart that is truly given over to Christ will produce an outward expression of that faith daily in a world far from God. God places you where He wants you to witness for Him every day.
Matthew 7:13 “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. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. There are so many distractions in the world, even in the church, that take our eyes off God. These distractions are tools of Satan to turn our focus to the problems of the present; and take our eyes off eternity. Satan loves division, Satan loves contentment, Satan hates focused. A heart that is focused on Christ is a heart not ever content with their ‘religion’; it is a heart that is in consistent pursuit of drawing near and living their lives for His glory. A focused heart is the heart of a disciple; and that heart understands who holds the key to the gates of paradise. That focused heart will fight against the comforts that are not there, the distractions that are, and seek to remain abiding in the only One who matters.
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