Rebuilding Your World #4 | Repair the Gates
For 90 years the city of Jerusalem had laid in disrepair.
Nehemiah came in to pick up the broken pieces and work to put it back together again. It took pretty much a good, long lifetime.
If someone were to describe a different kind of life and existence, they would have no reference point.It would be hard to see the possibilities of that.
When the Israelites came out of Egyptian slavery… they came out of the slavery, but it was hard to get the slavery out of them.
For instance, some people only know:
- A dysfunctional family
- Addictions
- Poverty
- Hardship
- Betrayal
We all have access to a life of:
- Peace
- Joy
- Love
- Victory
- Blessing
- Generosity
- Positivity
- Is hard for them to imagine
That’s why we need to adjust to the Bible rather than adjusting the Bible to us and our experiences.
In the rebuilding of Jerusalem, there were walls that were broken down,and gates that were destroyed.
Nehemiah 1:3 They said to me, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire.
Nehemiah 3 describes the 10 gates that were repaired.
Nehemiah 3:1 Then Eliashib the high priest arose with his brothers the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors.
Nehemiah 3:6 Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate; they laid its beams and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars.
There were 10 gates around the city that needed repair. There was new lumber and burnt stones that was obtained to repair the gates. But the walls were actually rebuilt out of the rubble and burnt stones that lay around the city.
God can (and does) use the rubble and the burnt stones in our life.
- Our hurts
- Our disappointments
- Our struggles
- Our testimony
- Even Our failures
They are all apart of our story. Your mess can become a message. Your test can become your testimony.
God touches on your wounds and healing flows through those wounds. God can take every broken part of your life and use it for His glory.
2 Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
2 Corinthians 1:4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
Everyone needs the gates AND the walls repaired in their life. Walls are the protection… the structure… and the boundaries of your life.
In the Bible in a Year plan that we’re reading as a church, you’ll remember Nicky Gumbel’s story about being a terrible ref. Everything became chaos & injury when he took over. That was until a legit ref showed up and brought proper boundaries to the game.
We need the walls of what’s right & wrong. Whats in bounds and out of bounds. The Bible gives us that clarity.
Proverbs 25:28 Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit
Part of the structure of our walls are on us. Remember, if my spirit is my responsibility. No one else can do your pushups!
Read your bible > Have your prayer life > Eat right for you > Worship for you
Psalms 122:7 May peace be within your walls, And prosperity within your palaces
Peace within your walls and prosperity within your palace… everyone wants that, right?
Let’s go back to the walls… they were rebuilt with burnt stones and rubble. The gates were rebuilt with new lumber.
There are some parts of our life that god wants to re-establish the old foundations of. Some parts of our life, God wants to open up fresh new gates.
Fresh stuff coming in and Fresh stuff is going out.
Gates are just as important as walls.
Gate – a movable structure controlling entrance or exit through an opening in a fence or wall or any means of entrance
Gates are the place of entrance and exit points of your life. They allow things to flow in and flow out. A great life breathes in and breathes out.
Gates are entry ways into new rooms, new places, new levels.
There is a battle at the gates of our life and there are gates that need repair in our life.
Genesis 28:17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
Matthew 16:18 “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it.
Genesis 22:17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.
Psalm 24:7 Lift up your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in!
Isaiah 62:10 Go through, go through the gates, Clear the way for the people; Build up, build up the highway, Remove the stones, lift up a standard over the peoples.
There are clearly spiritual gates:
- The House of God is a gate of heaven
- Hell has gates
- Our enemies have gates
- Gates to be walked through to the next level
- We can lift up gates for the King of Glory to enter through
There is a battle going on in the gates. Isaiah 62 gives us a prophetic picture of gates and walls restored.
Isaiah 62:1 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet, Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, And her salvation like a torch that is burning.
Isaiah 62:2 And the nations will see your righteousness, And all kings your glory; And you will be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the Lord will designate.
God sets an identity in place for us. Don’t be answering to those old names.
It’s not what name people call you, it’s what name you answer to!
So begin to be called by a new name:
- Blessed
- Favored
- Joyful
- Forgiven
- Loved
Isaiah 62:3 You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, And a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
Isaiah 62:4 It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,” Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”; But you will be called, “My delight is in her,” And your land, “Married”; For the Lord delights in you, And to Him your land will be married.
The land will be married to the Lord. Our land here at the Rock Church was used by Methodists for camp meetings in late 1800’s. We are writing spiritual history in Asheville. We are the answer to the prayers of a previous generation. And now… we are praying the prayers and establishing the foundations for the next generation.
Isaiah 62:6 On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; All day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the Lord, take no rest for yourselves;
Isaiah 62:7 And give Him no rest until He establishes And makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
I will not be silent, nor will I give my God any rest until He makes Asheville a praise in the earth.
This is why we:
- Pray
- Worship
- Serve
- Give
- Reach out
We are set as watchmen on the walls of Asheville.
Isaiah 62:10 Go through, go through the gates; Clear the way for the people; Build up, build up the highway; Remove the stones, lift up a standard over the peoples.
Isaiah 62 lays out these steps:
- Go through the Gates
- Clear the Way For the People
- Build up the Highway
- Remove the stones
- Lift up a Standard over the peoples
We’re all going to encounter “gates” that we must walk through if we’re ever going to move forward in God. We have gates in need of repair… gates that are being battled over.
Gate #1 – Fear
- Fear of failure
- Fear of what other’s may think
- Fear of success
- Fear of new levels
Gate #2 – Who is your source
There are many channels, but God is your source. Don’t confuse his assistance with your calling
Gate #3 – Disappointment
- In people
- In yourself
- In God
Gate #4 – Offense
You cannot let the “hurt” get in your spirit. It will affect everything: your outlook, your words, etc.
Gate #5 – New Thinking
The great reset is on.
We need to:
- Repair the gates
- Go through the gates
- Win the battle at the gates
When we go through the gates, it makes a way for others to go through behind you.
Remember, Isaiah 62 when you repair the gates:
- Clear the Way For the People
- Build up the Highway
- Remove the stones
- Lift up a Standard over the peoples