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About-Him.Com Devotional 01-08-2005
Http://About-Him.Com/ My Thoughts on the Life of Christ, from His Baptism to His Ascension. 160: Discourse on the Number of the Saved - Luke 13:23-30 23 ¶ Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to 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: 26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 28 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. 29 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. 30 And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last. Strive to enter into the "strait gate." Many will try but few will succeed. Once the door is shut, no man will be able to enter (see Matthew 7:14). But Lord don't you remember us? We ate and drank with you and you preached in our streets. "No I don't know you." I believe the primary application of this text is to the Jewish nation and religious leaders of that day. They were talking to the very one who had said , "I am the door (John 10:7-9)," and yet they refused to receive Him. They heard His words as they ate with Him and had nothing but ridicule as a sinner women knelt to anoint His feet (Luke 7:36-50). The Jewish nation of that day felt that no child of Abraham could be lost. Jesus said, "Not so, people of all races and nationalities are going to come from all directions and enter into the kingdom of God. They will rejoice in the kingdom with your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, while you yourself will be cast out." Conclusion and Application: Sobering words from the Master. Lest we feel superior in our perceived superior revelation of truth or our established denominations, we need to take them to heart. We live in a day when extreme legalism has been replaced by easy believism. Both are wrong. Not everyone who says, "Lord, Lord" is going to enter the kingdom. It is a requirement that we do the will of the Father in heaven and that we obey all of His word. In fact some people will rise up on judgment day and remind the Lord that they did mighty works in His name, even casting out demons.The Lord will reply, "Depart from me, I never knew you" (Mt 7:21-29). That's pretty sobering when we think about it, isn't it? Many in our day preach that all roads lead to heaven and that it doesn't really matter what you believe. There are indeed some absolutes in the word of God. We must believe that Jesus is God manifested in flesh or we will die in our sins (John 8:24). Jesus also stated that it was an absolute necessity to be born again if we intended to see or enter the kingdom of God (John 3:1-8). See The Birth of the Waterand the Spirithttp://about-him.com/page47.html . Jesus told us in Matthew 7:13-14 that the door to heaven is through the strait gate. There is a another road that is broader, but it leads to destruction.
In
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Humor
A friend of mine was a frequent user of a pay telephone at a popular truck stop, and was greatly
inconvenienced when the phone went out of commission. Repeated requests for repair brought only promises. After several days, the phone company was again contacted and told that there was no longer a rush. The phone was now working fine--except that all money was being returned upon completion of each call. A repairman arrived within the hour!
Somebody Has Said
"Sainthood lies in the habit of referring the smallest actions to God." - C.S. LewisKeep Looking Up! Don and Marie Spooner About Him! Ministries Your thoughts and Inquiries Contact@about-him.com Subscribe to this devotional? Subscribe@about-him.com
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