THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

The Reverend is discussing the importance of choosing the road less traveled, which leads to eternal life. She references scripture and emphasizes the need to stay on the straight and narrow path. She also discusses the challenges and struggles in life, but emphasizes that Jesus is the solution. The Reverend encourages listeners to not be ignorant of God's love and to worship Him in spirit and truth. She warns against following the majority and urges people to run into the arms of Jesus. The Reverend emphasizes that individuals are the Church and should open their hearts to God. She also discusses the consequences of rejecting Jesus and the importance of righteousness. Hey folks, this is Reverend Mary coming to you once again, praise the Lord, in the holy name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, from Along The Way Ministries. I want you to know that this ministry was given to me by our Heavenly Father August 14, 2006, and as a disciple of Christ, I am bound in the spirit of love and obedience to the will of God. To go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. And that scripture can be found in Matthew chapter 28, verse 19. Praise be, and thanks to God, good to be here with you today, and I want to talk about the road less traveled. We're going to concentrate on the road less traveled. And you know what the opposition is, the road less traveled is the road that leads to eternal life. That's what we want to concentrate on today. You know, I'm just sitting here thinking, is that not truly amazing, mind-boggling? It is just plain unreal, but it is true. The road less traveled is the road that leads to eternal life. Let me read you some proof, and as for those of you who tell yourself this word is ancient and does not apply to today, think again. All you need is common sense, eyes that can see, ears that can hear, and a mind that will accept the truth, praise God. Matthew chapter 7, 13th to the 14th chapters, I'm sorry, 13th to the 14th verses. Enter ye 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 thereat. For straight is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few be that find it, but have mercy. God reminds you that there is a fork in the road. You know, God teaches us that you don't turn to the left, you don't turn to the right, you stay on the straight and narrow. There is always a center, you know, a center point, that point dead ahead, so to speak. Our Heavenly Father is that center point, and we know that you can't go back. You can't go backward. The road just kind of fades in the background, has a road closed sign back there. There we just cannot go back. We need to be thanking God for that, praise the Lord. He is the God of second, third, and fourth chances, because He knows that life has many struggles. We will see trials and tribulations, and in Christ Jesus, there is a solution. He is the problem solver, the great deliverer, the repairer of the breach, even the bridges that we burn. It ain't nothing that He cannot do. He is Jesus Christ, the Son of the Most High God, hallelujah, God creator of all things. He is more than able. Do not doubt for one minute, failure doesn't come from falling down, failure comes from not getting back up. Praise the Lord, do you hear me? Failure does not come from falling, it comes from not getting back up. The secret of life is to fall seven times and to get back up eight, on the eighth time. The harder you fall, the heavier, the heavier your heart, the stronger you'll climb. The stronger you'll climb, the higher your pedestal, turn your wounds into wisdom, praise the Lord. The Bible says we are all sinners and prone to failure, but in Christ, we can be overcomers. Proverbs 24, 16, for a just man falls seven times and rises up again. The Bible does not promise a trouble-free existence, people, to the servants of the Lord. Righteous people are not those who never fall. You know, Pastor Don McClurkin says, sang a song that left a song's message engraved in my heart until this very day, for a saint is just a sinner who fell down, amen. He is the difference between darkness and light, that's what God is, that's what the Holy Ghost is, that's what our Lord and Savior is, the difference between darkness and light. With the help of the good Lord from above, he got back up. The question that comes to mind is, how can you tell the road less traveled from the road that is broad and wide? Think about when you travel, especially long distances, you know, you make one of two choices, the interstate, multiple lanes, high traffic, fast speeds, but congested, you know, terrible accidents, road rage, not much courtesy, you know, possible traffic backups, and longer commutes makes delays, you know. Well, have mercy, God bless. Now this is all about road travel. Right now, the analogy is with the use of highway travel. I don't think this will take a lot of imagination, you know, I think here experience is the best teacher. This stuff is hard to forget. Someone's first choice might be secondary roads, you see, highways might be attractive because there is less traffic, there's less traffic lights until you get to a town. But on a country road, there are stop signs, traffic lights, slower speeds, but the roads are long and sparse traffic. Very seldom a wreck, you know, you got to look out for deer crossings, that's mostly, you know, the signs that you see on those secondary roads back in the country, stuff like it. But there is no congestion sometimes, most of the time. Sometimes road construction may be taking place. This way will slow you down, the roads are narrow, not multiple like the interstate, and you very seldom see a wreck unless you look over toward the interstate, amen? We ask God for mercy, it just doesn't look good over there. You see, we do not need any more superhighways. We move so fast, we cannot see the scenery, worshiping the Lord and serving Him is the only way to know if you are on the right road or not, amen, hallelujah, praise the Lord. I can imagine that someone in every generation saying, this holy Bible, this word is ancient, it does not apply to me, to us. That is because anyone who would think like that does not get how indestructible, hallelujah, and powerful the Word of God is. Yes, amen. The world is in a huge mess because of ignorance. I'm not trying to offend anyone, but if you don't have wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, the result is ignorance. Yes, you see it. You do not want to be ignorant of who God is, what He truly means to you, and how powerful His love is for you. I don't care what you got, how much wealth, how many material things. You have acquired on this earth. You are dead in your sins without Jesus. You are an offense to God if you say you love Him and turn your back on Jesus. Don't do it! We do not need another building. We do not need new temples. We do not need new houses of worship, is what I'm saying, in the physical. We've got more buildings, more denominations that we can shake or stick in, amen? If the Word of God says, Be holy, for I am holy, it is the only legitimate denomination that I see in the Word of God, amen? It's got to be in agreement with me here. All else is man's desire to dominate and to control one another, even God's business. Lord, have mercy on their souls. Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do. When you worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, you become His disciple, Christlike, the people of God. We call Christians, first of all, in a place called Antioch. It is a beautiful thing to be called a Christian. This was like 2,000 years ago when Christianity, when the new covenant came. It is beautiful. It's a great thing to be called a Christian in this tumultuous day and time. As Jesus was preparing to come back, to return and get His children, praise God, thank you, Jesus. One of the most destructive terms that is used is, everybody else is doing it. It is damaging because most people find whatever attracts because the majority rules. Lord, have mercy, that's terrible. I am not victimized by this, even as a child I was not. I'm not bragging, people. Please don't think I'm bragging. I count myself fortunate, and it humbles me to no end. Nine times out of ten, I stand for what I believe in, always. It has been many years since past. I thank God for my salvation. And when I fell from grace, I cried out to God, and as I was trying to get back up, He just reached down into the pigsty where I was and lifted me back up. He said, you are mine, and I will tell you that I am the one who got away. If you are not worshiping and serving the Lord, you are being held captive by the greatest deceiver, the greatest liar, murderer of all times. Run from him. Run into the arms of Jesus. Another word for run is flee. You will find that word in the King James Version. You will find him in the Church of Jesus Christ, the Church of Jesus Christ, period, point blank. You, old man, a woman, a child of the Most High God, you are the Church, the Body of Christ, you, not the building where you fellowship and call it the Church. Well, Reverend, everybody calls it the Church, or says, let's go to church. With all due respect, old habits die hard, people. You, you are the temple of God. You are where He longs to be. Open your hearts, let Him in. It may be a little thing to some people, but it counts. But it counts. Hallelujah. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. It counts. And I want you to know this about me. The one time that I decided to yield, Satan was waiting to destroy me. He made a personal appearance into my life. He knocked on my door, believe it, because it's truth. Now, let us talk more in depth about this wrong turn that leads to destruction. Let's see what Revelations chapter 28, verse 8 has to say. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and the murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. For those who reject sweet Jesus, that's their fate. Lord have mercy. Matthew 25, verse 41 has this to say. Then he shall say also unto them on the left hand, depart from me, he cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. These are words written in red. Matthew 25, verse 46 says this. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment. Everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal. Who is God calling righteous? It is the redeemed of the Lord, those who love Jesus. Now, we have no right to call ourselves righteous, you know. We're very fortunate. It's very humbling to realize that God is so good and he just fitted us into that, what he calls his beautiful olive tree. And it's his people, the Jewish nation, the Hebrew children, were grafted into that beautiful olive tree. Who is God calling righteous? The redeemed of the Lord, those who love Jesus. Church, the body of Christ, the people of God. Hallelujah. Let's talk about some more amazing stuff. You know, most people know the story about Noah, who was called by God to build an ark. The first lug of his life. How about that? The world was corrupt, people, filled up with people, pretty much like today. Boy, they weren't scared. They did not fear God. But, you know what? People of today, our generation of people kind of reminds me, seem to have no fear. They don't seem to fear God. But they're scared to miss a meal. They don't want to be hungry. People who are diehard drug addicts, they're afraid to go into withdrawal because of the pain and suffering it causes. They're more afraid of that than going to hell. A woman will stay with a man who has beaten her, battered and bruised her, enslaved her, messed up her looks, will not seek God for help because she is afraid of him, of losing her, I'm talking about the man, afraid of him, of losing him, and saying that she loves him. He loves her. She just needs to do better. See, I like gentle men myself. I just can't see this. She was a slave to sin. Okay, let me stop right there and get back to Noah. Took him 120 years. He and his sons to build this big boat. And then during that time, he was preaching, trying to preach. He was trying to preach, let me put it that way, trying to preach to the people about changing their corrupt, perverted ways because God would be sending a mighty flood that would destroy all of mankind except for those who would repent, change their ways, and would be taking animals. Excuse me, let me expound on that. See, he would be taking all those who would change their ways with him. He would spare them from the flood. And he would be taking animals on board of the ark, every species, two by two, to replenish the earth. And this is what's mind-boggling to me. You would think that after 120 years, there would be someone that would not say, well, everybody's doing it. They are saying, I'm saying, man, you are crazy. Can you picture them saying that to Noah? Well, everybody's doing it. They're saying, I'm saying, and telling him, man, you're crazy. Can you see that? Well, it happens again. It's happening right now. The Bible says, come ye out from among them, don't follow the crowd, just Noah, his wife, three sons, and their wives, and the animals that survived the great flood. That survived the great flood was on that ark. God is good, people. Do you hear me? 120 years to get it together, to honor God, they did not. Let me talk about this for a minute. Tell you about this. Tell you how I feel about this. I don't like politics. But in the last election year, God was dealing with me strongly, and I love it when God gives me a word, especially if it's going to bring blessed changes to someone and give them something they desire, or even something they didn't see coming. I just love it when God uses me like that. It's a wonderful thing to lift somebody up, you know, like that, and give them hope, you know, it's wonderful. God specializes in that. The last election year for the presidency was a devilish mess because people lost hope, or they doubted the Lord. They lost trust somewhere, and it caused a rift in the spiritual realm. You need faith, hope, and patience to please God and to see his mighty works. Glory to God. Yes, you do. Between COVID-19, the changes being made at the Mexican border into America, the election results, Satan saw an opportunity, and he ran with it. Remember, people stormed the White House, rioting, burning, shooting, killing, beating one another, destroying property, doing everything, undercoming of a Christian, of a disciplined nation, of a great nation, of a disciple of Christ. It was horrendous. It was ungodly. It just was filled with chaos. You know, Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy on us. After the chaos, the people of God gathered together out in front of the Lincoln Memorial for a prayer walk. There were so many of us there, it became a prayer vigil. We sang songs, we fellowshiped, we prayed, we glorified God with our praise, our song, our fellowship. We praised the Lord. We prayed. We praised him. Our love was all over the place. Glory to God. Love was all in the air. See, the difference is, that was a heartbreaking, embarrassing, ugly, ungodly situation filled with chaos for days at the White House. You know, the looting and rioting I was talking about previously? And that one day of Thanksgiving, afterwards, after the chaos, that was a day of thanksgiving, praise, and worship, lifting up the name of Jesus and showing his love for our nation and for our God. It was greatness in the best way. Praise the Lord. Everybody that was doing it brought disgrace to our country. Brought disgrace to our country. I'm still, I'm going back to the chaos, to the burning, looting, and people killing one another, walking all over top of one another. Everybody that was doing it brought disgrace to our country and to our Heavenly Father. It was a shame. It makes me want to say this, don't teach your children to hurt and to hate others, other people, because someone hurt you. There is no right, no justice in that. None whatsoever. Amen? Children are not born to hate. It is taught. Amen? What happens when we eat from the spiritual food of life that God gave us? What happens? We survive this world. From now through our eternity, we are overcomers. Remember this. Take heed now. Please find your way. It is true that the flesh is weak. Although the Spirit is willing and is strong, there are voices in this world that lead to chaos and destruction on the outside, the upper realm of their darkness. There is light. It will end blindness and sharpen the hearing. The truth shall set you free. What doth saith the Lord? What does the Lord have to say about that? Let us hear what the Spirit is saying. Leviticus 19.28 Ye shall not make any cutting in your flesh for the dead, nor print any markings upon you. I am the Lord. You see, the body is a temple, the temple of the Lord. You are not allowed to defile or corrupt the place where the Lord resides, where he wants to be. Praise the Lord. You know, it seems that everything that the Lord commands us not to do, we do. Have mercy on us, Father. Some of those vows that people pledge to live by are not scriptural. Do not agree to something that is not given by God. If Jesus did not command it, stay away from it. You know, for instance, marriage is a beautiful covenant between a man and a woman. It is about love and devotion, being fruitful and multiplying. Having more children, having children. Replenishing the earth. The earth... Forgive me, people. Ah, forgive me. I'll get back on track in a minute. You know, we need to respect the earth, respect the sanctity of marriage here on this earth. It is a beautiful, it's a beautiful thing. It's a beautiful contract. Do not undefile, do not defile the marriage bed. You are not required to stay with someone who does not respect you, who verbally abuses you, physically abuses you, commits adultery. Your body is a temple. I could give examples, after examples of the ungodliness in the world. The Bible is the best way to learn to get wisdom from God, to have an intimate relationship with him. You can, you know, you can tell him anything and you won't hear it again. He won't betray you, your confidence. Even if you are embarrassed and ashamed, it's okay. He will love you right through it. He will lift you up so that you will get over it. His mercy is filled with compassion and his grace is amazing. And so this is really sustained. Hallelujah. Praise God. If something is going on and it is attracting great numbers of people, if it is something that is popular, looks kind of innocent from a distance, you know, if your curiosity is aroused, do not leap. Don't jump in. Take time, study it, especially the people involved. If your elders tell you, better stay away from that. Don't try that. I almost got caught up in that. It's destructive. It's destructive. If you are not about Jesus, if what is going on is not about Jesus, don't get caught up in it. It is destruction in its complete form and everybody is doing it. Run from it. Run for your life. It's wrong. Stand back. Don't take another step. The enemy has set a trap. See, in life, it is either or, neither nor. No in-betweens. Despite what the world says, it's a lie. There is life and death, heaven and hell. You see where I'm going. Right and wrong. Just and unjust. Saved and unsaved. The lost world and the kingdom of God. You know, the body of Christ. Oh my goodness. The straight and narrow. One road leading into the right directions, straight to Jesus. The road that has a lot of lanes leading to many different directions. See where I'm going. Stay with me, people. That is not toll-free. The price paid is high, very expensive. It has a high cost, more than you have to pay. On the other hand, praise God. Praise God. On the other hand, on the road that's not so traveled, so travel that road. On that road that's not so traveled, it is the right road. They're in the center of the crossroads in life. You know, that four-feet-a-room? Envision this with me. The center of the crossroads in life that will lead to the straight and narrow stands the good shepherd. He has left the foe, the flock, because he is looking for you. He is looking for you. He does not want you to wander off onto the highway because there is a lunatic out there who is a multi-serial offender waiting to destroy you, no matter what state you are in. And I'm talking about situational state, circumstantial state. I want to be clear about this. Jesus is a way to overcome, praise God. Do not do what everybody else is doing, glory to God. Jesus is it. You cannot have a relationship with God without Jesus. It's impossible. He just ain't having it. Kind of like, man, a man who says he loves you, wants to spend his life with you, but you already have children from a previous relationship, or vice versa, you know, a woman. Let me get this right in my head. You know, the analogy I'm using here is a woman to a man. A man to a woman. You know, it can work. Men can, women, you know. Hey, let me go over this again. It's kind of like marriage between a man, marrying a man who says he loves you, wants to spend his life with you, but you already have children from a previous relationship. He doesn't want your kids. Well, if he don't want your flesh and blood, then it should be no conversation. Jesus and the Father are one. God said, pray for Mount Zion. We are to pray for Jews that they come into their fullness in Jesus. The Muslims call their God Allah and say that he is God. They're saying that he's the same God we serve. God forbid. But Jesus is just another prophet. That's how they view him. People still worship man-made objects like Buddha and have their own philosophies about eternity. So many roads leading to destruction, people. Thank God for Jesus. Thank God for Jesus. Hallelujah. He died on the cross for the lost, and he is the only way. He is the only way. He died on the cross for the lost. There is hope for all people in Christ. Anytime you come across people or a person who get violent, belligerent because you give honor to Jesus, there is something tragically wrong with their soul. You did not commit a crime. You did not disrespect them in any way, and yet they take up arms against you. The only suffering that is worthwhile is for Jesus. Hallelujah. Be a prayer warrior for Jesus. When man shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you, rejoice and be exceedingly glad. Praise the Lord. Let us keep up the good fight with courage and boldness for the Lord. No matter the enemy's perpetrations against you, there is no law against the truth. May God bless you and keep you in his perfect will. Help somebody along the way. See you next time, folks. In God we trust. Thank you, Jesus.