TEXT: MATTHEW 7:14

Our theme for the year is Choose Life. It’s an invitation. Jesus says, "The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness" John 10:10 (NLT).

What an amazing text! Jesus has a plan for your life. He wants to give you "life in all its fullness." The chief end of God is to give you abundant life. But it doesn’t just happen. It isn’t a random kind of thing. If you’re going to find fullness of life, you’re going to need help finding it. And that’s what we’re going to consider today . . .

One of my favourite poets is Robert Frost. Listen to his poem: The Road Not Taken.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
and sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
and looked down one as far as I could
to where it bent in the undergrowth:
Then took the other, as just as fair,
and having perhaps the better claim
because it was grassy and wanted wear;
though as for that, the passing there
had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
in leaves no feet had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less travelled by,
and that has made all the difference.

Which road are you on? When I was eighteen years old, I was faced with a choice. Two divergent paths stood before me. A broad road and a narrow road. After much heart searching I chose the narrow road. Or maybe I should say the narrow road chose me. "I took the one less travelled by." Matthew 7:14 says, "But the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it" (NLT).

Have you found the path of life? "Only a few ever find it." In Psalm 16:11 David says, "You have made known to me the path of life" (NIV). With all the ups and downs - all the ins and outs of life - we will never find the path of life unless someone helps us. David found the path of life because God revealed it to him. Have you found the path of life? Religion isn’t the path of life. Morality isn’t the path of life. Education isn’t the path of life. Philosophy isn’t the path of life. And your alter-ego isn’t the path of life. You are going to need more than a handful of principles, more than good intentions, more than hard work, more than sincerity, more than money, and more than wisdom to find the path of life.

Who knows the beginning from the end? You don’t. Who knows the twists and turns that lie ahead? You don’t. Only God knows what is unknown. Only God knows the way ahead. Only God can reveal the path of life. Are you feeling lost? Is your life being undermined at crucial times? Are you too close to your life to really see what’s going on? Do you find it next to impossible to live in freedom and victory? If you answered yes to any of these questions you need to ask God to show you the path of life . . .

You can’t find the path by yourself. Only God can make it known. But you have to ask Him. If you don’t ask God to show you the path of life, you’ll never find it. So ask God to show you. And if you’ve asked Him before - ask Him again. Matthew 7:7 says, "Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened" (NLT).

Now that’s well and good. "But the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it" Matthew 7:14 (NLT). ". . . only a few ever find it." Why do only a few people find the path of life? Because Satan works so hard to keep us from finding it. Listen. Satan is hell bent on ruining your life. He will use everything at his disposal to hinder and harm your life. If you are going to find the path of life - if you are going to be fully alive - you will have to fight for your life. This may be the most important thing you hear today: You won’t get fullness of life unless you fight for it.

There are two sides to everything. When you ask Christ for abundant life, He hands it to you on a plate. But while He’s handing life to you, Satan will try to snatch it away. Do you really want life . . . fullness of life? Do you want the real deal . . . do you want freedom in Christ? Well the only way you’re going to get it, is by fighting for it.

Here’s the bottom line. There’s a sustained assault on your life by the devil and his demons. You’re in a battle for your life. You were born into a world at war. Satan is doing everything he can to spiritually oppress you. Now don’t pooh-pooh this . . . John Eldredge says, "To live in ignorance of spiritual warfare is the most naive and dangerous thing a person can do. It’s like skipping through the worst part of town, late at night, waving your wallet above your head. It’s like walking into an Al- Qaida training camp, wearing an ‘I love the United States’ T-shirt. It’s like swimming with great white sharks, dressed as a wounded sea lion and smeared with blood . . ."

Yes, you’re in a battle for your life. So what should you do? How do you "fight the good fight"? 1 Timothy 1:18 (NIV).

Here’s a simple twofold strategy: Submit to Christ and resist the devil.

James 4:7 says, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (NIV).

1. Submit to Christ.
"Submit yourselves, then, to God . . ." James 4:7 (NIV). The battle for your life starts with your life. You should submit yourself to Christ every day. Some of you are defeated before you even get out of bed! For weeks, maybe months, you’ve not submitted yourself to Christ. Some of you are dry . . . lukewarm . . . backsliden . . . And why? Because you stopped submitting yourself to Christ. Listen. If you want fullness of life, if you want freedom, if you really want the extravagant and abundant life Christ wants to give you, then you’ve got to place your life under his lordship.

There are actually three things you need to do in order to submit yourself to Christ:

First, consecrate yourself totally to Him. You must give Him your body (cf. Romans 12:1), soul (cf. Luke 10:27), and spirit (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:17). You can’t hold anything back. Give Him everything. Renew your relationship with Him. Surrender all. Give Him your heart and mind and strength . . .

Second, cover yourself with the blood. The blood of Christ is a very powerful weapon in the battle for your life. If you want life, you’ve got to cover yourself with the blood of Christ. Christ’s blood is efficacious. There’s life in the blood (cf. Leviticus 17:11). He ". . . has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us" Revelation 1:5 (NLT). Some of you are living under condemnation. You’ve bought into the lies of the devil. The enemy has told you that you’re weak, ugly, stupid, impotent, pathetic . . . You know how it goes. And now you’re living under a cloud. You’ve accepted the abnormal as normal. Well it’s time to say, "No more! I’m washed in the blood of the Lamb! Christ has shed His blood to set me free!" Choose life. Cover yourself with the blood. For the blood disarms the devil (cf. Revelation 12:11).

Third, confess your sin. Some of you are spiritually impotent because you’re harbouring unconfessed sin. 1 John 1:9 reminds us that ". . . if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong" (NLT). You can’t have fullness of life until you’ve been cleansed from every wrong. So choose life. Confess your sin. Confess all sins of commission and omission. And in particular, confess any sin or agreement you wittingly or unwittingly made with the devil. Renounce any and all gods or idols in your life. Ask God to search you and reveal any aspect of your life that is not pleasing to Him . . .

So you submit to Christ by consecrating yourself to Him, by covering yourself with His blood, and by confessing your sin.

2. Resist the devil.
James 4:7 says, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (NIV). Once you’ve submitted to Christ, you must resist the devil. And how do you do that? How do you take a firm stand against the devil? How can you be strong in your faith? (cf. 1 Peter 5:8-9). By putting on the armour of God. Ephesians 6:11-18 says, "Put on all of God’s armour so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms. Use every piece of God’s armour to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth and the body armour of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News, so that you will be fully prepared. In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere" (NLT).

Having put off your old self you must put on the new (cf. Ephesians 4:22-24). You resist the devil with the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, and prayer. You can’t win the fight against the devil with natural weapons. You need supernatural weapons. You need truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, the Holy Spirit, and prayer. No one can walk the path of life without them. If you’re going to get on, and stay on the narrow road, you have to put on the armour of God every day. For the armour of God is uniquely designed to take out the enemy.

Listen to what God’s Word says about these weapons:

Truth: ". . . the truth will set you free" John 8:32 (NLT). Is your life in a bind? Buckle on the belt of truth. For ". . . the truth will set you free."

Righteousness: ". . . righteousness delivers from death" Proverbs 10:2 (NIV). Are you feeling dead? I’m not talking physically. Are you feeling dead on the inside? Is there no spark in your life? Put on the breastplate of righteousness. For ". . . righteousness delivers from death."

Peace: ". . . a wonderful future lies before those who love peace" Psalm 37:37 (NLT). Are you worried about tomorrow? Are you anxious about the future? Are you concerned about what could happen with the war in Lebanon? Are you wondering how you’re going to handle a relationship that’s gone sour? Or are you agonising over how you’re going to make ends meet since you lost your job? Put on the shoes of peace. For ". . . a wonderful future lies before those who love peace."

Faith: ". . . it is by faith you stand firm" 2 Corinthians 1:24 (NIV). Is your life feeling shaky? Are you standing on shifting sand? Take up the shield of faith. For ". . . it is by faith you stand firm."

Salvation: ". . . his salvation is near to those who honor him . . ." Psalm 85:9 (NLT). Are you feeling vulnerable? Do you need someone to protect you? Put on the helmet of salvation. For ". . . his salvation is near to those who honour him."

And finally, do you need help? Do you need to know how to live? Do you need support and encouragement? Do you need the wisdom that passes all understanding? Do you need strength and power to overcome the challenges that come your way? If yes, then take the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. "For the word of God is full of living power . . ." Hebrews 4:12 (NLT).

There you have it. The enemy’s strategy is to divide and conquer. A pack of African wild dogs epitomise the devil’s tactics. When a pack of wild dogs hunt, the first thing they do is separate the chosen prey out of the herd. Be on your guard. Don’t allow yourself to be cut off from your church family. Don’t go it alone. God made us to share life - He made us for community. If something or someone is separating you from your church, isolating you from God’s people, or cutting you off from fellowship, then see it for what it is; it’s Satan’s ploy to divide and conquer.

Once the wild dogs have separated the chosen prey out of the herd, they start to wear it down by running it to a point of exhaustion. Then, when it can no longer defend itself, they close in for the kill. Some of you lead lives of busyness and drivenness. You’re going flat out all the time. The devil’s ploy is to keep you running - to burn you out in order to take you out. If you’re too tired to read God’s Word, if you’re too busy to attend Sunday worship, if you’re too exhausted to connect with a midweek Life Group, or if you’re just plain overwhelmed, then recognise it for what it is; it’s Satan’s ploy to take your life.

But now you know what to do. God has made known to you the path of life (cf. Psalm 16:11). If you submit to Christ and resist the devil, you will find fullness of life, you will be victorious.

Will you fight for your life? "The glory of God is man fully alive" Irenaeus. God’s in your corner. He’s rooting for you. If you fight the good fight, if you submit to Christ and resist the devil; you’ll find the path of life. Amen.

L. Murray, 2006