This
Weeks Message- (scripture taken from King James Version)
"TWO
GATES, TWO ROADS, ONE WAY TO LIFE"
This message was
originally sent in the month of April year 2002, but I felt led to resend it again with a
few alterations for this year 2005. It is
imperative that we choose the right road for only ONE leads to life. The individuals in the message represents one who
knew the direction he should go, but because of the deceitfulness of the flesh and the
desire for the things of this world, was led away from the only road that leads to life
and to the road that leads to eternal damnation. By
the time he realized this, it was too late. The
other individual sought the road that leads to life, despite the struggle, trials,
hardship and stumbling stones that were placed on this road, she pressed forward until she
reached the end. What awaited her was well
worth the suffering she endured while walking on the only road she knew would lead to
Eternal Life.
There are two
gates, one to the left and one to the right. Beyond
each gate lies a road where one is broad and wide and looks very appealing and inviting. The other is very narrow, unappealing, stones
strewn everywhere to block the way of those that choose to walk upon this road. Yet, everyone that choose this road and proceed
forward on it, has found the one way to life!
When
we choose JESUS we choose LIFE
. The
other choice leads ONLY to death!
TWO
GATES, TWO ROADS, ONE WAY TO LIFE
And he went
through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be
saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will
seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up,
and hath shut the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying,
Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye
are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou has
taught in our streets. But he shall say, I
tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when
ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God,
and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall
come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall
sit down in the kingdom of God. And behold, there are last which shall be first,
and there are first which shall be last. (Luke 13:22-30)
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 (Matt 7:13-14)
In this life my
friends we are given a choice. God has created
every human being in this fashion, having the ability to choose and whatever choices we
make in life, will directly affect the outcome of every situation. With choice, we are given two options and must
choose between one or the other. Good or evil, Right or wrong, Truth or lie, Love or
hate, Joy or sorrow, Freedom or bondage, Spirit or flesh, Light or darkness, God or satan,
LIFE OR DEATH!!! This is a message of such.
He stood before
two open gates. One to the left of him, and
the other to the right. Beyond each gate lie
two separate roads. One leads to death, the
other leads to life. Which gate will he enter? Which road will he walk upon? There are two gates, two roads, but only ONE WAY leads to life!
By all appearance
the gate on the left seemed more appealing. Even
from where he stood he could physically see its pleasures beyond. He saw nothing at all beyond the gate on the right
of him except a narrow, lonely, stretch of road with many stones upon its path. But, although the road seemed empty and lonely, he
felt an inward nudging to proceed forward
through the gate onto this road. However,
before he could take that first step forward, his physical eyes did rest upon the open
gate to his left. Thus he ignored this inward
nudging and thought within himself as he stood in front of the wide open gate to his
left: Beyond this gate lies everything that
would bring me joy and pleasure. I hear music
and dancing beyond this gate. Theres
great wealth and all the things money could buy beyond this gate, I would never want for
anything! It doesnt appear to be a dangerous road. Many of my friends have taken
this road and they seem to be quite happy and content. They never had any complaints and
besides, I like what I physically can see here beyond this gate. At least I can see what Im
getting into, whereas beyond the gate on my right, it appears to be barren, empty as if
very few have walked down that path. And its
entrance is not very wide, I would have to struggle just to get through it, he thought. If I were to choose this road the walk would
no doubt be a difficult and lonely one as the road is not clear, there are too many stones
in the way. The entrance on my left is wide and possibly more opportunity for blessings
lies beyond. Maybe it is Gods will I
walk on that road, for there is nothing evil about the things I may encounter. After all, God wants me prosperous and happy in
this life, surely he will protect me and surely I will not get caught up in any form of
evil. And besides, while Im on this road
perhaps I can witness to others for I am a godly man and know the truth about Jesus. He then makes his choice and decides to go
through the gate on the left thinking to himself,
Ill only go a little way and if it becomes too much where Im unable to
handle, Ill turn around and come out.
Just as he prepares himself to go through, he notices a young woman
approaching the gate on his right. He eyed her
with disgust as she was considered to be a very sinful woman. By profession, shed lived her life as a
prostitute bound by drugs and alcohol. Now she
stands before this gate dirty, corrupt, and filled with much sin. What a dreadful, vulgar sight she is, he thought to
himself. What was she doing at that gate? She
will never be able to walk the road behind that gate.
He then boldly asks her, why are
you approaching that gate? I should think you
would want to enter the gate to your left. To
which she replied, Why then are you preparing to enter through? I should think you would not desire to enter
through the gate of temptation, but would rather enter through the gate on your right. Lady, Im
nothing like you he proclaims. Im a good man who lives a good life and
unlike YOU, mine isnt bound by sin. I
attend church regularly, pay my tithes, give to the poor,
pray for the sick, visit the shut in, read the word of God daily and pray
always. I have complete control over my flesh
and can walk beyond these gates and the things beyond would have no effect on me. Im NOTHING like you, he said to her.
She quietly replies, you are right sir, you are nothing like me
for I am a sinner looking for the road which leads to life, and I believe Ive found
it beyond this gate. The road may be
difficult, but this is the one I choose. Tell me sir, where does your road lead? But, before he could answer, she slips beyond the
gate to begin her journey on that narrow, lonely road.
And he walks through the gate on his left, all the while saying to himself,
I will not walk to far. But just a
short distance into the walk, hed already begun to enjoy the pleasures around him
and how it fed his flesh. He kept trying to
convince himself that it was all harmless, and hed only walk a little further to
explore a bit more. Soon, he says, Ill
turn around and go back. However, the longer
he stayed on that road reasoning with his flesh, the more difficult it became for him to
turn around and let go of the pleasures. He
also noticed, the longer he walked on the road and the further he went, the darker his
surroundings became. So much so until it was
as if all light was dissolving before him, and he was being swallowed up by complete
darkness. He turned to the left, and then to
the right seeking for an exit off this road but it was like a maze. The more attempts he made to find the exit, the
deeper into the darkness he went. This made it very difficult to see ahead of him and he
began to stumble and lose his way. The
pleasures of the flesh were no longer pleasurable to him.
He wanted to get off this road, and walk back through the gate but had gone
so far that he could not find his way back. From
a distance he hears a voice saying Keep forward, youre almost near the end,
you shall soon see light! He had no idea
he was listening to the voice of his enemy as hed lost all spiritual discernment and
was filled only with fear and confusion. He
was willing to try anything to get to the end of this road to what hed thought would
be complete safety. Thus, he heeded to the
voice and continued forward even through the thick darkness.
Finally, from a short distance he could light.
Without thinking, without hesitation, he darted towards this light happy
that hed reached the end of this road. As
he darted towards this light, he began to lose his footing and slipped, falling into a
deep ditch where there he noticed that he was surrounded by this light. But there was a problem. This wasnt the light hed expected, this
wasnt that GREAT and AWESOME LIGHT, this was something different. He looked around in panic and realized the light
surrounding him was coming from flames of fire and there was no way out. Frantically he tried to scratch and claw his way
out to no avail. He begged, screamed, pleaded,
did everything he could but soon realized there was no way of escape. There was no exit, he could not go back the way he
came in. No longer could he hear the sound of
music and dancing. There were no more
pleasures for the flesh. And although he was
surrounded in flames, the torment he felt seemed to come from within. Everlasting separation from the Eternal Father. Unbearable torment, horrible pain. He thought about the woman at the straight and
narrow gate, and wished he would have followed her in.
But, it was too late, hed foolishly chosen the wrong gate and now he
would spend eternity in the place of torment. He
was given a choice, and the choice he made was to go through the gate on his left where
the road led to sin, and ultimately ETERNAL
DEALTH!!
Now, the young
womans journey on that narrow road was indeed a difficult one. The days seemed endless and there were times where
she felt she couldnt physically take another step forward. There had been many stumbling stones placed on that
path and it was quite difficult to cross over them. It
seemed as soon as she crossed over one, another was there.
The road was so narrow that it was impossible to go around the stones, but
one had to endure the challenge of crossing over them.
She found a large staff that she used to help her in her climb, but had to
clutch it with both hands as it was difficult to steady herself with just the one. The journey seemed never ending. A few times she thought, Perhaps I should
have walked through the other gate as this road is so difficult. Yet she knew the road she was on was the only path
which led to life, and she was determined to live! Her
flesh felt no pleasure. In fact, it was very
weary, tired, battered, and bruised. Her bones
ached, and her muscles hurt tremendously. Yet,
she pressed forward with the help of an unforeseen gentle, and loving hand that would
reach down and picked her up each time shed fallen and she fell many, many times. At
one point, she had fallen and bruised herself so that she just lie there weeping, having
not the strength to proceed forward. But then
she felt a gentle stroking upon her back, and a voice commanding her saying: Rise my
child and proceed onward this journey. You are
not alone, for I am with you always, even to the end.
She would hear this gentle voice throughout her journey and it would
encourage her and inspire her to keep walking forward and not turn back DESPITE the desire
of the flesh to give up. Although she
physically appeared to be alone, she knew there was a companion walking along side her,
helping her and leading the way for she could feel his presence. He was a great comfort to
her, never allowing her to stay down when she had fallen.
Never allowing her to give up, but would constantly remind her of what
awaits at the end of the road. With His help,
she made it through the turbulent storms and treacherous trials and tribulations that were
placed before her. She noticed the closer she
walked with him, allowing him to do the leading and the longer she stayed on that path,
the more clearer things became around her and the more brighter was the light. Fear had ceased, and FAITH had taken its
place.
Finally she
neared the end of this road. Although
outwardly she was tired, inwardly shed never felt better in her life. Shed
made it, she had reached the very end and could not proceed further. Suddenly she became aware of the Light around her. It was the most BRILLIANT, most AWESOME LIGHT shed ever seen. Peace consumed her, joy unspeakable. Out of the light she heard a voice say COME and without hesitation, she
walked directly into this light and the warmth of it saturated her entire being. Although she was surrounded by this light, the
warmth seemed to come from within. She heard a
voice from the Light saying: ENTER MY CHILD
INTO MY REST. She proceeds deeper
into deeper into this light that takes her through another gate, only this one was massive
and the most beautiful gate shed ever seen. She
walked through the gate and found herself on another road, only this one was Paved in PURE GOLD!!
Looking around trying to take in all her surroundings, the beauty of
what was before her was incomprehensible, indescribable.
In all her life shed never seen anything like it before and found it
impossible to put into words. She heard the
sound of music everywhere, beautiful melodies playing, and an enormous sound of many
voices, innumerable, singing together in unison Holy,
Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, Holy is the Lamb of God. Someone approaches her and places a gentle arm
around her shoulder. She turns to look around
and finds herself staring directly into the eyes of LOVE. He appeared to be overjoyed that she was there. He did not look upon her in disgust, but looked at
her as if she was the most beautiful sight hed ever seen. She looked down at her clothing and realized she
was no longer wearing the garments she had when she had first entered the gate. Neither was she bruised and dirty through much
stumbling and falling. She wore a beautiful
long robe, which had no spot nor wrinkle upon it, and was whiter than snow. She reached up to stroke her hair, and realized
upon her head was a beautiful golden crown. Where
did this come from, she thought? How were my
clothing changed? She turned to once again
look into the eyes of Love. Master, she said,
this robe, this crown, these are for me? He
replied: They became yours the day I died at Calvary and Ive
kept them all this time for you. All you
needed to do was RECEIVE THEM by RECEIVING ME. The stained garments which you once wore
were removed the moment you turned your back on the road of sin and corruption. You took up your cross and followed me and though
the trials were harsh and difficult, you did not return back to your life of sin on the
road that led to death. She felt
overwhelming joy and found it nearly impossible to turn from these eyes of Love. To see his face, to be in his presence, to rest in
his embrace, to feel this unbelievable peace and joy was well worth the walk down that
narrow path, she said. I would walk that road
again and again just to be where I am now, she said. In
the presence of the King of kings, and Lord of lord, my Savior Jesus Christ. She falls down before him in worship and praise. Thank you my lord, she says. Thank you for loving me, thank you for accepting
me, thank you for receiving me. He picks her
up and holds her close to his heart, she could almost hear his heartbeat. My
precious daughter he says, YOU chose to walk through the RIGHT gate. I know that it was a difficult journey, but as
promised, I never left you alone for I was ALWAYS with you.
You have walked down the RIGHT Road, Enter NOW into my
rest and ETERNAL LIFE!!
Two open gates
stand before us,
Two separate roads,
ONLY ONE
LEADS TO LIFE!!
CHOOSE
LIFE!!!!
I love you all so very much. Have a
blessed week in the Lord and remember: Whatever we do, do ALL for the GLORY of
GOD, who ALONE is worthy of the GLORY and the PRAISE!
The Lord be with you this day and always! Shalom Uvracha (Peace and Blessings)
..
Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh,
Adonai
Elohim Tzeva-ot
Asher Hayah Va-ho-veh VaYvo
Holy, Holy, Holy
Lord God Almighty
Who was and is and is to come!
May the peace of the Lord be with you
today and always
Khandielese
Daughter & Servant
of the Lord God
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