“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate.” Matt. 7:13, NLT

Who teaches you? Whose disciple are you? You are somebody’s disciple. You learned how to live from someone else. Contrary to contemporary Western thought, we are NOT our “own person”.
Who has discipled you over your lifetime?
One of the major transitions in life is to recognize who has taught us, mastered us, and then evaluate the results in us of their teaching.
The assumption of Jesus’ ministry is that people on earth would live their lives as His students and co-laborers. They would find Him so admirable in every respect, they would constantly seek to be in His presence and be guided, instructed, and helped by Him in every aspect of their lives.
Anyone who is not a continual student of Jesus, and who nevertheless reads the great promises of the Bible as if they were for him or her, is like someone trying to cash a check on another person’s account. At best, it succeeds only sporadically.

The effect of continuous study under Jesus is that we learn how to do everything we do “in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Col. 3:17); that is, on His behalf or in His place… as if He were doing it Himself.

KEY: There is no good reason for not doing what He said to do! He only tells us to do what is best! Just try and picture yourself standing before Him and explaining why you did not do what He said was best. His gospel is a gospel for LIFE and DISCIPLESHIP.

As Jesus finishes this Discourse on the Hill, the topic is the practice of routine obedience from the heart.
You enter by a narrow gate.
–Understand this: There is a correct way to enter. Not just “any old way” will do.
A warning against those who would mislead us
–They look good, but inwardly (where the real action lies), they are only governed by their own desires.
–Look at what they do…see their actions…and pay little attention to what they say.
Do the will of the Father.
–The real meaning of the law and the prophets.
–Do what Jesus taught was BEST.
Build an indestructible house.
–Hear what He says…then go DO it
–Hear only, “think about it”, and then not DO it, exempts you from the blessed reality of the Kingdom.
What is the narrow gate? Doctrinal correctness? Obedience. Simple obedience to His best for us. Many people who cannot even understand correct doctrine nevertheless place their full faith in Jesus…and their lives are indestructible. Yet, many may have “doctrinal correctness”, but live with hearts full of bitterness and unforgiveness and hatred. The broad gate is simply doing whatever I want to do.
The fruit of the good tree is obedience. The wolf in sheep’s clothing is the one who tries to fake discipleship by outward deeds. Inward realities will overwhelm them in time.