The Battle To Enter The Kingdom Of Heaven. Luke 13:22-30

Luke 13:22-23:
“And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem .
Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved?… “

There will always be something to fight for, or against, as we strive to be found worthy to enter the Kingdom of heaven at the end of our earthly tenure. It could be that we are either fighting to overcome some lapses in our relationship with God and man, or else fighting to maintain our victory over those lapses. This fight is bound to continue in order to prove our resolve to strive to enter God’s Kingdom; God will let it run through the course of our years until the end of our earthly lives, when we shall exit this world either as losers or conquerors. 1 Timothy 6:11-12; 2 Timothy 4:5-8.

“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a profession before many witnesses”. 2 Timothy 4:12

In our opening text, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, in answering the question put to Him about the number of people likely to successfully enter His heavenly Kingdom, made the following comments, which we shall build upon in admonishing ourselves to greater commitment and consecration in serving God.

1.Jesus Christ admonished all people to Strive to enter God’s Kingdom.
“Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able”.
In replying the enquirer, our Lord first admonished to strive to enter the Kingdom of God. This gives us the understanding that heaven will not be won on a platter of gold—we will need to fight hard to be admitted into it. This answer is quite different from what some preachers want their congregation to believe; they have indoctrinated them to believe that becoming a Christian frees one from any further battle, except to wait for the return of Jesus Christ to take them to heaven. However, we can see that the Lord Himself said that many people will be unsuccessful in their attempt at entering into the heavenly Kingdom, and that is not because God wants only a few people in His Kingdom, but rather because most people would be ill-prepared for the challenges which lie between them and God’s Kingdom. There’d be trials, temptations and persecutions to overcome! Only a consistent striving against those forces of evil, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Conqueror of Satan and sin, can guarantee total victory to anyone. John 16:33: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. “

2. Jesus Christ said that the master of the house will shut the door at the appropriate time.
   “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:”
   Luke 13:25.
   Here we get the understanding that there will not always be time available for anyone to prepare for heaven. Now is the accepted time!
   2 Corinthians 6:2 :
   “(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)”
   Most people die unprepared for God’s Kingdom simply because they thought that they could be better prepared for that journey someday, and that day never came!
   Knowing the grave consequence of missing the Kingdom of heaven, and the fact that we do not even know how many days, months or years we have left to live, should make us treat the subject of repentance and reconciliation with God with wisdom and promptness.
   Isaiah 55:6-7 says:
   “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
   Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. “

3.Jesus Christ said that people who missed heaven at last will seek to make excuses, but belatedly.
Luke 13:26-27: ” Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.
But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.”
This is a clear warning for Christian procrastinators; don’t delay for another day or time whatever you have to do to make heaven right now. Those set of people whom the Lord turned away from the gate of His Kingdom were, most likely, people who were familiar with the ways of God: they had eaten with Him and had attended His meetings. But it would seem that they kept putting away for another time the issue of total surrender of their life to His will, in order to actually work out the salvation of their soul.
Philippians 2:12: “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”.

Obviously, those things they casually put away until another time may have included some issues like neglecting to live a holy and righteous life after repentance, or refusing to practice the restitution of stolen or mismanaged assets entrusted to them.
Luke 19:8-9: “And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold .
And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham”.
Unless we do not have the means to do it, and God bears us witness, putting away for tomorrow what can be conveniently done today might turn out to be a regrettable gamble!
James 4:14: “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

4.Finally, Jesus Christ said that some will lose their places in heaven to others.
Luke 13:28-30: “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.
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.
And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last”.
This is a wakeup call! God is not partial; anyone who becomes careless and unserious with serving Him may lose their place in heaven to those who are more earnest and determined to enter in.
God has given all of mankind equal opportunity to share in His glorious Kingdom. Whatever anyone choses to do with that opportunity is their business, but they must understand that God is impartial in His administering of justice: “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons”. Colossians 3:23-25. Read also the following scriptures: Revelation 3:11; 2:25; 1 Corinthians 10:12-13.

“Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall”. 1 Corinthians 10:13.