Rebuilding Your World #6 | Gate Matters
Remember: gates let things in, and they can let things out
- The Sheep Gate – your relationship with Jesus
- The Fish Gate – renew your passion for those away from Jesus
- The Old Gate – don’t get so woke you bail on the Bible
- The Valley Gate – don’t get stuck in a valley
- The Dung Gate
It’s time to clean out the trash… to clean out the clutter.
But also clean out your dependence on self righteousness! A little spring spiritual cleaning never hurt anybody!
2 Corinthians 7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God
Holiness is a position not a performance, but the position should start affecting the performance. Perfecting holiness is working out our position into our performance.
Bear fruit in keeping with repentance
Are there habits, hindrances, “piles of stuff” clogging things up? Cluttering the landscape? Throw them out the dung gate!
Philippians 3:7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Philippians 3:8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,
Philippians 3:9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith
Paul says “I realize I don’t have anything really to bring to the table to earn a spot at the table”. I count all that as rubbish or dung compared to the kind of righteousness I receive as a gift from Jesus.
Know who you are and what you have in Jesus. You will ultimately start living out what your real self image is on the inside. You’ve got to work out what God works in.
Just because you can’t earn a right standing with God, doesn’t mean you don’t gain an advantage by clearing out the clutter.
- The Fountain Gate
The fountain gate is located near the pool of Siloah and was often used by the people for cleaning before proceeding on to the temple.
Washing with the water of the Word
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,
Ephesians 5:26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word
We all need daily, regular, systematic:
- Brainwashing
- Heart washing
- Paradigm washing
- Soul washing
Sometimes you read the Word and sometimes the Word reads you.
Today there are so many ideas, opinions, theories, paradigms, outlooks, new, fake news thrown at us. Every day!
Take a Word shower. Every Day!
Not to earn points but because our inner man needs it! The Fountain Gate is about your relationship with God’s Word.
- The Water Gate
The Water Gate led down to the Gihon Spring which was located adjacent to the Kidron Valley. These 2 gates are located next to each other – the flow gate.
John 7:37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “ If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
John 7:38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”
John 7:39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Holy spirit flows like a river. So get in the flow of a relationship with the Holy Spirit. The Water gate is about your relationship with the Holy Spirit and keeping your spirit in tune with the Holy Spirit.
- The Horse Gate
The horse gate was close to the King’s stables and the men of Jerusalem would ride their horses out of this gate to war.
Gear up for battle, in the day of battle!
Proverbs 21:31 The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But victory belongs to the LORD
Psalms 20:7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
You have to know there will be battles. But you also have to know where your victory comes from. Battles are a part of life and certainly a part of moving forward.
Battles are a part of every journey. Embrace it, accept it, don’t be knocked off by it. It includes you but it’s not all up to you. God is a victory God!
2 Corinthians 2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.
- The East Gate
The golden gate (the East Gate) was facing the Mount of Olives.
Jesus entered Jerusalem through the East gate and ascended from the Mount of Olives. Many believe He will return on the Mount of Olives.
The gate where Jesus walks into and out of our world.
The East Gate is about really reaching out for the reality of Jesus power and grace in our lives and moving beyond mental assent.
- The Muster or Inspection Gate
Also known as the Miphkad gate. The word in Hebrew has a military connection and according to tradition it was at this gate that David would meet his troops to inspect them.
2 Corinthians 13:5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed you fail the test?
2 Corinthians 13:5 Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it.
To be in the right relationship with Jesus comes by a free gift God gives… but that gift is not a cheap one. It cost Jesus His life. It is a gift to be valued and handled with care.
Grace is not freedom to do whatever you feel like. Grace allows us in despite the fact that we could never do enough to earn our way in. The Inspection Gate is about being sure and confident in where I stand with God.