I.　"Enter in through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter through it. Because narrow is the gate and constricted is the way that leads to life, and few are those who find it"—vv. 13-14:

A.　There are two possible ways of our life and work before God—the way that leads to life and the way that leads to destruction—vv. 21-27; cf. 19:23-26:

1.　The constricted way is according to the divine regulations fulfilling the spiritual requests to bring in God's elect and to bear the testimony of Jesus Christ, carrying out God's economy for the building up of the church of God—the Body of Christ—John 15:5; Rev. 1:9.

2.　The broad way is according to the worldly systems, satisfying the natural tastes, to get the crowd, to maintain a career of man, and to achieve man's enterprise—Matt. 13:31-33; Rev. 2:13, 20; 17:4-5.

B.　The way of the Lord's recovery is the way of life that leads to a living reward in life in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the coming age— Psa. 16:11; Jer. 21:8; Matt. 19:29; Luke 18:30; 1 Cor. 3:13-15; 15:58.

II.　There is only one street in the New Jerusalem—the street of life—Rev. 21:21b; 22:1-2:

A.　If we in the local churches have any streets other than life, we will lose the nature of the local church, and there will be divisions.

B.　If we fail to emphasize life, we will repeat the history of Christianity, which is a story of divisions and of many streets.

C.　The unique way for the daily life of God's people is the divine life flowing in the divine nature, proceeding out of the throne of the Lamb-God—v. 1:

1.　The flow of life for God's glory should have the preeminence within us—v.　1; cf. Ezek. 47:1; 43:2.

2.　We need to live under the restriction and ruling of the divine life flowing within us; then grace can reign within us for us to reign in life—Rom. 5:17, 21; Heb. 4:16.

3.　The street connected to and coming out of the throne is a "fellowship street"; the divine fellowship brings God to all His redeemed people in order to bring them back to Himself as their throne for His golden administration within them—Rev. 21:18b; 22:1-2; 21:21b; cf. Ezek. 1:22, 26; 1 Kings 10:18.

4.　"Wherever you are going and whatever you are about to do, if there is the sense that the flowing of the stream will be stopped by proceeding in that matter, then you must stop. Stop in order to maintain the flowing. To maintain the flowing you must refrain from all those activities which are not of the Lord, that is, which are not of the flowing of the stream within you" (The Divine Stream, p. 12).

III.　The God-ordained way is to have a living and working which are always narrow and constricted, according to the pattern of the Lord's life and ministry—John 5:19; 4:34; 17:4; 14:10, 24; 5:30; 7:6, 18:

A.　As ones in the Lord's recovery, we must be able to say that we are not taking the way of Christianity but the way of constriction:

1.　Although we want to see the increase in all the churches, we do not want the increase on the broad way but on the constricted way; those in Christianity can use rock music or other worldly methods in their services, but we cannot, because our way is constricted.

2.　The constricted way in the Lord's recovery is the way of the heavenly Father's will according to His life and nature—Matt. 7:21-23.

3.　If we live and work according to our human concepts and natural ways, our living and work will be founded on sinking sand; this is to enter the wide gate and walk on the broad way that leads to destruction—vv. 24-27.

4.　Destruction here does not refer to the perishing of the person himself, but to the destruction of a person's deeds and works—1 Cor. 3:15.

B.　We in the Lord's recovery must walk in our spirit; walking in spirit restricts us, causing us to live a normal, Christian life and making us vital, healthy believers—Rom. 8:4; Gal. 5:16, 22-23; 1 Thes. 5:16-18.

C.　The work of the Lord in the flowing of the divine life issues in precious material for God's building; such organic work is not a burden but a rest— 1 Cor. 15:58; 16:10; Gen. 2:10-12; Rev. 21:18-21; Matt. 11:28-30:

1.　In the church service, we are not endeavoring to merely do things successfully; our service must be life flowing out to others as a ministry of life—John 7:38-39; 2 Cor. 3:6; 1 John 5:16a.

2.　We must learn to restrict ourselves in our labor according to the measure of the rule which the God of measure, the ruling God, has apportioned to us— 2 Cor. 10:13-14; John 15:5; Acts 20:19-20, 31.

IV.　"Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, was it not in Your name that we prophesied, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name did many works of power? And then I will declare to them: I never knew you. Depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness"—Matt. 7:22-23:

A.　Here the word knew means "approved"; the Lord never approved those who worked in His name yet did not do things according to the will of the heavenly Father; thus, He considered them to be workers of lawlessness—cf. 1 John 3:4; 2 Thes. 2:3, 7.

B.　"If anyone loves God, this one is known by Him"—1 Cor. 8:3:

1.　To say that God does not know you means that He does not approve of your way—cf. Rev. 2:2-4.

2.　To be known by God means to be owned and possessed by Him; the one who is known by God becomes God's possession, joy, entertainment, and pleasure—cf. Col. 1:10.

C.　There are constricting lines of the divine life and the divine nature in the Lord's recovery, and we must run the Christian race between these lines to be approved by the Lord at His judgment seat—1 Cor. 9:24-27; 2 Cor. 5:9-10.