WALK IN THE LORD'S WAY

PROCLAMATION

“This is what The Lord says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls…’”  Jeremiah 6:16 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

These are the words of The Lord God which were spoken to the prophet Jeremiah and proclaimed to the people of Judah.  Because the Israelites had turned away from The Lord God and worshiped idols, He said that He would allow the Babylonians attack and destroy them. (Jeremiah 6:2-7)  He warned them to turn away from their sinful ways or He would turn away from them. (Jeremiah 6:8)  He encouraged them to seek out the right way, the good way, and to walk in it. (Jeremiah 6:16 and Matthew 7:13-14)  However, many of them did not listen to Him, and because they did not listen to Him or heed His words, He said that He would bring disaster upon them (Jeremiah 6:19) and both the young and the old would perish. (Jeremiah 6:21)

APPLICATION

We have a choice of which path we will take.  Many will choose the wide, well-travelled path which will ultimately lead to destruction.  However Jesus, The Christ, has taught us to choose the straight and narrow, less-travelled path, for it will lead to eternal life. (Matthew 7:13-14)  If we reject The Lord God, and The Word of God, we can expect that disaster will follow and we will spend eternity in hell. (Jeremiah 6:19, Revelation 20:12 and 20:15)

NARROW IS THE WAY THAT LEADS TO ETERNAL LIFE

Proclamation:

“Someone asked Him, ‘Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?’  He said to them, ‘Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and not be able to.  Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading,’ ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ But He will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’  Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with You, and You taught in our streets.’  But He will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.  Away from Me, all you evildoers!’  …”  Luke 13:23-30 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, as recorded by Luke, the physician, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Luke began this chapter by quoting the warning which Jesus gave to the people to repent or parish. (Luke 13:1-5)  Then Jesus told them the parable of the fig tree. (Luke 13:6-9)  Afterwards, Jesus healed a crippled woman on the Sabbath in the synagogue and again angered the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. (Luke 13:10-17)  Later, in response to the question asked by someone in the crowd that was following Him as He headed towards Jerusalem, Jesus replied, make sure that you enter through the narrow door.  He said, wide is the gate and broad is the well-travelled road that leads to destruction.  But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)  Everyone in the crowd following Jesus was not a believer.

Application:

Unfortunately, not everyone who attends church worship services are saved believers.  Some people are in the crowd for other reasons.  When the time comes, they will be told to depart from Him because He does not know them.  Actually, He knows their hearts and knows that they are evil doers and workers of iniquity. (Luke 13:27)  There will be some people in heaven who we will be surprised to see, and there will be others who we expected to see who will not be there. (Luke 13:28)  Let us repent, confess, and believe, (Romans 10:9) and make sure that our names are written in the book of life. (Revelation 20:15)

LORD MAKE YOUR WAY CLEAR BEFORE ME

Proclamation:

“But I, by Your great love, can come into Your house; in reverence I bow down toward Your holy temple.  Lead me, Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make Your way straight before me.”  Psalm 5:7-8 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  He begins this psalm by asking The Lord God to hear his prayer. (Psalm 5:1-2)  David states that the first thing that he does every morning is to pray to The Lord. (Psalm 5:3)  Then he begins to expound upon some of the things displease God. (Psalm 5:4-6)  David then states that by the love of God, and by the multitude of His mercy, he can enter the house of God.  He bows down in reverence and worship even when he looks upon or faces God’s holy temple.  Then he asks The Lord to lead him in His righteousness and to make His way clear before him.

Application:

Like David, we should begin every day with prayer.  We should hold The Lord God in reverential awe, and we should even respect His holy temple.  In addition to thanking God for His grace and mercy and blessing us with one more day, we should ask Him to guide us throughout the day.  We should all walk in the way that The Lord God would have us to walk.  Our prayer should be that The Lord will make His way clear to us, so that it is easy for us to discern, and that He will guide us and help us as we walk in His way. (Psalm 23:3)  We want The Lord to order our steps. (Psalm 37:23)  We want The Lord to clearly tell us what to do, and to show us the way to go.

Do Not Stray From The Path

"A man who strays from the path of understanding comes to rest in the company of the dead."  Proverbs 21:16 (NIV)

King Solomon said that the simple man who is void of understanding will be easily led astray, seduced by the wicked and the evil, and he will be lost.

Anyone who turns away from the path of righteousness will be condemned.  Jesus Christ said that any man who turns back after accepting Him is not fit for the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:62)  Once one has come into His marvelous light, there is no way they should want to return to the darkness.  The saved may sin again, but they will never deny Him.  We may fall down along the way, but we will never leave the narrow path to follow anyone else.

Lead Us Along The Straight And Narrow Way

"Teach me Your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path ..."  Psalms 27:11 (NIV)

This psalm is one of David's many conversations with The Lord.  David literally asks God to help him,  to show him the way that he should go and tell him what he should do.

There is only one right way and that is God's way, and that way must be shown to us.  We would not find or follow the narrow path by ourselves. (Matthew 7:14)   In our walk of life, we want our direction and each step that we take to be ordered by God. (Psalms 37:23)  That is not likely to happen unless we ask God to teach us His way and to lead us along the straight and narrow path.  This is the less travelled way because very few people find it.