Matthew chapter 7 verses 13 and 14. Enter ye in at the straight gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Because straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. This word, straight, does not leave room for error. This is the very idea behind the word. Not so much straight, like a line is straight or an arrow is described as shooting straight. Something that is, doesn't have any curves in it or not wrinkly, but it's straight, but something that's very tight. and very close, and there's not much room on one side or the other, it's very straight. The Straits of Magellan, way down at the bottom of South Africa, it's just a narrow bit of sea that goes between islands, South America, and the bottom of the continent. It's shorter than going all the way around the continent, and there's just a very narrow passageway, and if it's handled very carefully, the Straits of Magellan, then sailors could cut a lot of time off of their trip around South America. But it's still a difficult journey around the Straits of Magellan. But there isn't room for error. You have to be careful. And the Lord Jesus says, enter ye in at the straight gate. There's not room for error. This is a theme that we find throughout the scriptures from the very earliest pages of history in Genesis chapter six and verse five. We read, and God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The earth also was corrupt before God and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt. For all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah walked with God. Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And God said to Noah, the end of all flesh is come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them. And behold, I will destroy them with the earth. And God told Noah, make thee an ark. And Noah built an ark, an ark large enough to hold him and his wife, his three sons and their wives, and a sampling of all of the animals of the earth that breathe the air. The only place to escape the flood that was to come was in the ark. There was no other place to go. It was a very straight and a very narrow way. It was only in the ark. All those who stayed outside the ark and any who sought to escape the terrors of the flood that God sent, they most certainly drowned. There was but one way to escape the fury and the anger of the living God, and that was by entering into the ark. And you know the story, only Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives and the animals that were with him on the ark survived the fury, wrath, the anger of the living God. It was indeed a straight gate to enter into. We turn over the pages of scriptures to the book of Exodus. In the book of Exodus, we read of the bondage that the children of Israel had endured for centuries under the cruel yoke that the Pharaoh had put upon them. The Lord sent Moses and Aaron to deliver his people from this slavery. He sent nine plagues to Egypt. The river turned to blood. For seven days, the river Nile became blood and all the fish in it died and the river stank. For seven days, the river was blood. There were frogs that covered the land and the lice that infested men and beast, flies that swarmed through the countryside. There was the moraine of beasts or infectious disease that covered the animals. All the cattle of Egypt died. There was a plague of boils upon the men of Egypt, hail with thunder and lightning running across the ground that decimated the crops of Egypt. There were locusts that ate what was left of the green things in Egypt and darkness covered the land three days. A darkness so dark a man could not see his hand before his face. The last of these plagues the Lord sent was the death angel that passed through the land of Egypt. God told the people of Israel to take a lamb, a lamb of the first year, and to take its blood and to pour its blood out in a basin and take that blood and put it on the two side posts of the door and over the top of their door. And all who had the blood of the lamb over the doorway to their house would be safe from the death angel. The people of Israel did as the Lord commanded, and they put the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their houses and on the top lintel of their house. The death angel passed through Egypt from the Pharaoh's house all the way to the beggar's house. All of the firstborn in the land of Egypt, they all died. There was no other way of escape. There was a very straight way. There was no room for error. The only way to escape the ravages of this death age was by the door, the blood on the side of the door and over the top of the door. This was God's way. There was but one way of escape from his anger and his displeasure. We turn a little further In the Old Testament we read of the people of Israel, not long out of the land of Egypt and they murmured and they complained against God for the way was hard that they had to travel in. They did not like his provision for them and they murmured against him. He was angry and displeased with them and he sent fiery serpents into their midst. The fiery serpents bit people and they died for their murmuring and their complaining against him. Many, many people of Israel died. They cried to Moses, send us a deliverance, deliver us from these serpents. The Lord told Moses to make a brazen serpent and put it upon a pole and carry the serpent about in the camp and all who look upon it will live. There was no other way to live. It was very straight and very narrow. Well, I'll try something else first. Anybody who tried anything else after being bitten by one of those serpents in hopes of living was certain to die. There was only one way to live and that was to look upon that one that was carried through the camp. But to look and to live was the only hope that any could have. There was but one way. The Lord Jesus said, enter ye in at the straight gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction. And many there be that go in there at. Straight is the gate, narrow is the way which leadeth unto life. Few there be that find it. But we find those who find it. There are those who find this straight gate. For the invitation is a broad invitation. And there are those from every walk of life who enter in at the straight gate. In the Gospels we read of Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was chief among the publicans. He was rich, the scripture says. He sought to see Jesus, who he was. He could not for the press, the crowd was too great around the Lord. And because he was a small man, he could not make his way through the crowd. And the story is a precious story. He ran before and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him. When Jesus came by that way, he looked up And he saw Zacchaeus and he said, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down for today. I must abide at thy house. Zacchaeus made haste and came down and received him joyfully. There are those, you will find them in every corner of life. There are those who will criticize the work of Jesus Christ. And there were those who saw what happened here and they marveled and they murmured, murmuring against the living God. They murmured saying that he, Jesus, has gone to be a guest with a man that is a sinner. Zacchaeus was known for what sort of man he was. His reputation had gone before him and undoubtedly what they had to say about him was true. But when men bring the Son of God into judgment, you will find that men are always wrong. For Jesus Christ is righteous in all that he does. And Zacchaeus said when he came down from the tree, behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said, this day is salvation. Come to this house. He's a man who was on the Broadway. That leads to destruction. And yet he wanted to see Jesus Christ. He wanted to know who he was. And he submitted himself to the authority of this one known as Jesus. And he entered in at the straight gate. And he cast it all upon Jesus Christ. We read of Lydia in the Scriptures. She was a seller of purple, which worshipped God. A woman who heard Paul and his companions preach, and her heart the Lord opened. A woman of means, a woman who was an accomplished woman, but she believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. In Luke chapter five, we read Jesus and he went forth and he saw another publican, a publican named Levi. Levi sitting at the receipt of custom. He was doing his job. He was about his business of collecting taxes, which is what publicans did. Jesus said unto him, follow me. And Levi rose up and followed him. He was on a broad road, a broad way that leads to destruction. But he left the broad way and he followed after the person of Jesus Christ and he entered into the straight gate, the place that doesn't leave room for error, the only way that leads to life, life eternal. There is no other route, there is no other avenue, only by entering in at the straight gate. Again, in the book of Acts, we read of a Philippian. He was a jailer by trade. Paul had been placed in his jail, and as Paul and his friend Silas were singing praises unto the Lord, the Lord sent a great earthquake. The locks that held Paul and his companion and the other prisoners in that jail were broken. The doors were swung open. The Apostle Paul won this jailer to the Lord. He came in and fell down before Paul and said, sirs, what must I do to be saved? Paul said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. The man who had been the broad way that leads to destruction entered in at the straight gate. We also read of an Ethiopian treasurer, a man of great authority, the scripture says. Philip opened him to the scriptures of Isaiah chapter 53 that described the sufferings of Jesus Christ. The man said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. A man who had been going one way, a broad way that leads to destruction. He had been at Jerusalem. He had been a man worshiping in the temple, but he had not come to an understanding until Philip came along and showed him how to enter in at the straight gate. And he cast off his wall and leaned upon the person of Jesus Christ. And in his journey, the Apostle Paul came to an island, the island of Paphos, and he came across the Roman deputy of this land, Sergius Paulus. The scriptures tell us that he believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord. He turned from the broad way that he had been on, and he entered in at the straight gate. Then we read of Dionysus and a woman named Damaris. You heard Paul preach at Mars Hill in Acts chapter 17. The account is recorded for us. Paul preached unto them repentance. He preached the death of Jesus Christ, the judgment coming of his resurrection from the dead. There were those who were there on that occasion who mocked, but we know that these two and some others with them Demerits, Dionysus, they entered in at the straight gate. The scripture says that wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction. But these two, well they left that broad way and they entered in at the straight gate which leadeth unto life. We also read of the great Apostle Paul and his testimony is recorded actually in different places of the scriptures and different details are given. But he says concerning himself, touching the law. He's a Pharisee. Persecuting the church. He's touching the righteousness that is in the law. He was blameless. He was on a broad way that leads to destruction. All of his righteousnesses, all of his goodness, all of him being a Hebrew of the Hebrews, he says, I counted those things but done. I cast them out. They have no value to me that I might win Christ. He said, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. The Apostle Paul saw himself as a sinner. Not only a sinner, but chief of sinners. And Jesus Christ came to save such as him. To save sinners from the broad way that leads to destruction. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me. He said, Ich bin der Weg und die Wahrheit und das Leben. Niemand kann unser Vater denn durch mich. Now I ask you, are you on that broadway that leads to destruction? Will you enter in at the straight gate? Is there one here tonight or two, perhaps others? know the state of your soul. You're on this broad way that leads to destruction. The Lord says, enter ye in at the straight gate. An imperative, an earnest statement. This is necessary, this is needful. There's no room for error. For error only leads to shipwreck or to destruction, and it's an eternal destruction. Man can make a financial mistake and find himself financially ruined, but perhaps he can recover from that. Man can make all manner of mistakes in this life and, well, we recover from it, we get up and get on our way again. Not where this matter is concerned. The scripture says, enter ye in at the straight gate. This is the way to life, life eternal. And it's the only way to escape everlasting destruction. Cast your all upon Jesus Christ to give your all to him. Have you come to this place in your life that I have no place else to turn. I have no one else to hope in. I have nothing else that I could possibly hope in. And I wouldn't dream of hoping in another. But in Jesus Christ, for he came into this world to save sinners. And he is the only one that is good enough to deliver me from eternal destruction. Have you cast your all upon him? If not, then I urge you to call upon Him even now. Even now, for today is the day of salvation. Not another day, not another time, not maybe some other day, but to cast your all upon Him and join what could be called a happy throng. Though millions have come, there's still room for one. There's still room at the cross for you. Even now, in your own heart, call upon him, pray to him, Lord Jesus, deliver me from this destruction. Cry to you, cast my all upon you, giving up all of my own righteousness or all of my own hope. Myself, my church attendance, my goodness, anything in my past, everything I would cast upon you to deliver me from this hell that I deserve.