Entering at the Narrow Gate

Bring the Praise Back to Zion Part 3

Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Isaiah 35:8-10

“A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray.  No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; it shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there,  And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

The Church has held itself in captivity to worldliness.  Now is the time to walk again the Highway of Holiness. It is the time to rebuild and restore.

The rebuilding and restoration must begin with the Church, the spiritual Israel.  In the rebuilding process, it is good to reexamine the tabernacle in the wilderness which became the design of the Temple in Jerusalem. God’s presence, His glory, rested there in the Holy of Holies.

The tabernacle is a picture of both Jesus Christ and the believer. Jesus is the true Tabernacle.  In Him we see the fullness of God. Believers, too, are the dwelling place of God:  Christ is in us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).

M.R. DeHaan, founder of the Radio Bible Class, compared believers to the tabernacle:

“The redeemed person is composed of body, soul, and spirit. The body corresponds to the court of the tabernacle. It is the outer, the visible part of our personality. It is the place of sacrifice (Rom. 12:1-2). The soul answers to the holy place and is the place of worship and fellowship with other believers, feeding about the table, walking in the light, interceding for others. Finally, the spirit of the believer is the inner holy of holies, the deepest, hidden life of perfect, individual, personal communion with God beneath the blood. It is the place of spiritual victory.”

Keep this in mind as we walk through the restoration of the Church, the spiritual tabernacle.

The linen fence around the tabernacle and the courtyard remind us that we must put a guard around our hearts.  We must protect our spirituality.  We must hold fast to our relationship with God.  Proverbs 4:23: “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”

What are we watching? What are we reading? To whom are we listening? The fence was made of white linen representing purity.  Is our fence pure?  Are we walking in holiness?

Believers can enter the courtyard only through the door. We must enter in order to have relationship with Him.  Jesus is that door.  "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” John 10:9.

Jesus is the door.  Not Allah.  Not Vishnu.  Not Buddha. Jesus, only Jesus.  “Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?'' Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:5-6). Jesus is not “a” way.  He is “the” way.

To bring the song back to Zion, we must walk that Highway of Holiness that begins with our acceptance of Jesus as not only our Savior, but as our Lord as well. "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. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

Entering that narrow gate brings a promise. “"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” John 10:10-11.

Are we willing to guard our hearts and enter into fellowship with Him? 

Psalms 100:1-5: “Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.