People with determination

Matthew 7:13–14 NKJV

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.

Luke 13:22–24 NKJV

22 And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

Jesus testified that the way to the Kingdom of God/ to life has a narrow gate, and a difficult way.

The way to destruction has a broad is the way that leads to destruction.

If You ask any individual in the street ,”if there is heaven would you like to go in it.” All them will say yes. What people struggle with is not the Kingdom of God/heaven but the way to the Kingdom. They stumble at the way.

The gate that leads to life is narrow, meaning dificult to get through, the way is difficult, meaning difficult to walk in.

While the gate to destruction is wide, easy to get through, and the way is broad, meaning very easy and comftable to walk in.

Jesus said to Strive to enter in this narrow gate and walk in the difficult way inorder to attain life.

Jesus Christ not only walked in this way but calls and invites all to walk in this path.

What Jesus Did

During his ministry, when he did many signs and wonders, miracles and fed thousands with food. Many came after him seeking to follow him.

There was one thing that Jesus will always do when crowds and people came seeking to follow him. They came with the Desire to follow him.

He would preach to them a sermon that made following him very unapealing, unattractive.

Examples Luke Multitudes

Luke 14:24–27 NKJV

24 For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’ ” 25 Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

Luke 14:33 NKJV

33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

The man who wanted to follow Jesus wherever he goes

Luke 9:57–58 NKJV

57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

Jesus preaching to those who sought to follow him after eating the bread he gave them

He spoke to them about eating his flesh and blood, and they would not live if they do not.

John 6:66 NKJV

66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.

Why did Jesus do it?

It seems as this preaching was designed to push them away from the way from following him.

He was revealing to them the truth about the way, manifesting to them what it would cost. He was being real with them. We need God to be real with us, we don’t need him to suger coat it for us.

Most importantly he was testing and sifting the people to find a specific group of people who would without a doubt make it all the way to the end. People with determination.

People who are determined to inherit life at whatvere Cost,

to make it into the kingdom at whatver cost

To receive the spiritual grace and blessing of God at whatver cost

To receive the anointing of God at whatever cost.

To be partakes of the hidden gifts of the spirit of God at whatever cost.

Deteremine people.

Brothers and Sisters, desire is good but it won’t get you to the Kindgom fo God, it won’t bring you the blessings of God, it wont make partakers of the gifts and grace of God. However Determination will.

Determination defination:- it is possesing or displaying resolve. It is having made a firm decision and being resolved not to change it. It is the ability to be resolved to do something without wavering even though it is difficult.

Ruth and Orpah

There was only one thing that made the eight book of God to be called the book of Ruth instead of the book of orpah.

Ruth 1:6–18 (NKJV)

6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited His people by giving them bread.

7 Therefore she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.

They all wan’t to go with Naomi in Judah and be with Naomi and live with Naomi.

Desire is good, because it will get you out of Moab and get you going to the gate

8 And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each to her mother’s house. The Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.

9 The Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” So she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.

10 And they said to her, “Surely we will return with you to your people.”

They wanted to be with Naomi, they loved her and desired to be with her

11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?

12 Turn back, my daughters, go—for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons,

13 would you wait for them till they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters; for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me!”

Naomi began to show them how bleak their life will be with her. She can only offer them a life of widowhood. THis is what Jesus Did.

Then suddenly desire began to fail, no matter how much she loved Naomi and desired to be with her, Oprah could not handle the cost to follow Naomi as she was not determined to go with her. Her resolve was not set in stone. It had a limit.

14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

This was the difference between Orpah and Ruth.

When Naomi pushed her away, orpah loosed her hold, but Ruth tightened her hold.

We have to people with determination, that when diffulty, hardhsip, storm try to push us away we tightened our hold even further instead of loosening it.

We have to have this quality.

15 And she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.”

16 But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God.

17 Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.”

The Ruth was determine to hold on to Naomi until death.

Are we that determine to walk in this way, to follow Jesus. Are we willing to give our last drop of blood to his cause.

18 When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her.

God will test our determination, our resolve to follow him.

It requires determination to receive the blessings of God.

Jacob as an example.

Jacob wanted the blessing of Abraham and his father Isaac.

He had desire but he chose the easy way to try to get it.

He chose to steal it through Deception.

He decieved his Father, so that his Father mistook him as Esau and blessed him.

There are those today who have great desire for the gifst of God, for the blessings of God but choose to attain it through the easy way, the broad way. Through deception they steal the gifts of God. They claim to have things that does not belong to them.

They take upon themselves the title of prophets, Apostles, and claim to have all kinds of gifts through the work of deception.

God has blessing, anoninting, grace and gifts in abundance but to receive it you have to seek it out the right way.

The right way is difficult.

The right way is being by yourslef all night long in the wilderness and wrestling with God until th day breaks.

Jacob was determined to receive his blessings.

Even the dislocation of the Socket of his hip did not sway him.

The Angel blessed him when he saw tha he was determined to be blessed and was not willing to let go.

Genesis 32:22-28s

Lack of determination and resolve keeps us from the great sprirtual blessings of God.

The fullfill the ministry you have to have determination.

Isaiah 50:4–7 (NKJV)

4 “The Lord God has given Me The tongue of the learned, That I should know how to speak A word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear To hear as the learned.

5 The Lord God has opened My ear; And I was not rebellious, Nor did I turn away.

6 I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.

7 “For the Lord God will help Me; Therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore I have set My face like a flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed.

“face like a flint” is saying which means be completely determined in the face of great difficulty.

We have to set our face as a flint, be determined to fullfill the work of God not matter the difficulty.

Note:

The ministry of God is greatly rewarding and enriching.

There is great reward in heaven for those who accomplish God’s Work.

However, that package comes with difficulty.

There will be incredible odds you have to overcome, there will be opposition you will face in the Spirit. Difficulty that will come your way. Unless you are determined to finish the work you won’t finish it.

Example Nehemiah

God called Nehemiah to build the walls of Jerusalem.

Begining the work was dificult in of itself. He had to convince the people who were stricken with poverty and many of them were slave to build this wall.

He and the people also had to endure ridicule and mocking by the nations round about them as they work. Yet they did not stop.

He had to overcome also opposion from within, people who tried to sabotage his work, who hired prohets to damage his reputations.

He had to overcome death threats and imminent danger for his life.

They worked day and night and did not have even time to change their cloths.

They were determined to finish the walls, no matter the difficulty.

The Apostle Paul.

Alot of people like the ministry of Paul, they wan’t to be used like Paul but don’t wan’t to face the same difficulty. They wan’t what he had but not the difficult way he walked in.

Acts 20:22–24 (NKJV)

22 And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there,

23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me.

24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

Wherever he went he did not know what God was going to do through him but one thing he was sure of and he knew. He was going to face difficulty and hardship as he tried to do the work of God.

He was determined to accomplish God’s work regardless of the difficulty, so it never moved him.

Some people are easy to be moved, a little bit of diffulty, a little bit of pain from the enemy.

Even sickness did not stop the Apostl Paul from his ministry

Galatians 4:13-14 “13 You know that because of physical infirmity I preached the gospel to you at the first. 14 And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.”

If you count your life dear, you are going to find it difficult to fullfill the will of God, because you will try to save your life.

Paul writes to Timothy.

2 Timothy 4:1–5 (NKJV)

1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:

2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;

4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Paul was informing the difficulty he will face in his ministry in the future.

Then Paul tells him to fulfil his ministry and endure affliction.

Ministry comes with aflliction and difficulty. Inorder to fullfill the ministry Timothy must be determined to do God’s work in the face of this difficulty.

Timothy died fullfiling his ministry, doing the work of an Evangelist.