Nehemiah 3:14- 32
The Message of the Gates Part 2
In my parents house as I was growing up – we had something
that most of you probably had – we have one in my house today
A) An
Unofficial growth Chart –Unofficial because it was just markings in pencil on
the wall – The date a line – a number – 4’11 / 5’2
B) For my
brother and I it was one of those things – we always wanted to see – Have I grown –
Am I getting taller - Have I made Progress
1) As young
people we look for that Progress – We want to see growth in our Stature / in our
intellect as well as in Character
C) What about
in our Spirituality – are we progressing ? Are we growing are we getting bigger/ stronger / faster as a believer
Nehemiah Chapter 3 is a picture of that growth – REALLY?
A)Now if you
weren’t here last week I mentioned that at first glance this chapter – seems a bit mundane
B) A long list
of names telling where the families worked as they re-built the wall – Each family positioned by a different gate .
C) But if you have been a student of the Bible
for any length of time you know that God never does
anything by accident
1) Often times what seems like a mundane list – or
incidental information – contains a message behind the INFORMATION
D) What we have here is what we might call the message
of the gates
1) The progress of the believer from Salvation to
the Great white throne Judgment –
We started in v. 1 at the SHEEP GATE = SALVATION
A) Jesus
declared in John 10 – He was the Sheep Gate – the
door into the sheep fold of God – He is the entry point Salvation begins with Him
B) After the Sheep gate comes the FISH GATE = Our Calling to
be Fishers of men, to be salt of the earth & lights to the world
1) Matt 4:19
Jesus declared Follow me and I will make you ….. of men!
C) After the Fish Gate comes the OLD GATE = speaks of the Timeless truth’s
of the word of God and the need for every believer to get grounded in God’s
word
1 Peter
1:24-25 "All
flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass
withers, And its flower falls away,
25 But the word of the LORD endures
forever."
After the Old Gate comes the Valley Gate – trials that come
into our lives –
A) We all go
thru trials – Deep dark Valleys Times of testing / times of temptations / times
of difficulties
B) Times where
you wonder – what is going on – but those times of trial are necessary – They
Produce several things in us !!
James 1:2-5 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various
trials,3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.4 But let
patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking
nothing.
#1 Trials
Produce patience & help us to become complete in the Lord
1 Peter 1: 6-9
6 In this you
greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been
grieved by various trials,7 that the genuineness of your faith, being
much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be
found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,8 whom
having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you
rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,9 receiving the end of your
faith -- the salvation of your souls.
#2 Trials reveal if our faith is genuine – if it is real
A) What
happens to Plastic in Fire? – It burns up – it dissolves
B) You can
take a piece of Plastic and shape it like a gold brick / paint it gold – and
put it into the Fire – guess what – going to burn up
1) Reveals that it is not gold
at all
C) That is
what happens to Plastic faith – in the fire – not real
D)
True faith – like gold when put into the fire it melts – It becomes liquefied
so that the goldsmith can mold & shape it
1) So Trials
Produce patience & help us to become complete in the Lord
Trials reveal if
our faith is genuine
#3 Trials also reveal to us a new side of the Lord and his
Presence in our lives – Psa 23 Shepherd who is with us in the Valley of the ….
Death
A) Shadrach
………. Jesus is with them in the Fire
B) It is in
the times of trial that we discover that He is Jehovah Jireh – the God who
provides
1) That He is Jehovah Shalom – the Lord our peace
who gives to us a peace that surpasses all understanding
C) It is in
the Valley times that we discover that He is Jehovah Tsidkenu the Lord our righteousness
1) SO The trials produce in us a deeper Revelation
of the Lord !!
Now there is a 4th thing that happens to us in
times of trial – Trials reveal where we still need to grow!
A) There is
another thing happens to the gold when it goes into the fire – the first thing
that happens is the impurities rise to the surface
B) That is
what happens when we go thru the Valley’s { Our - Impurities come out – { BIG GULP}
bumps
B) Although we don’t deny or abandon our faith – sometimes
we don’t pass the Test -
1) What is revealed is our
Impurities – we say things that we shouldn’t
We react in ways that are not proper
C) Have you ever thought – I am past this – certain
attitude that plagued you or sinful habit that you felt bond to
1) Then you have some times of Victory – you think
–great I am over this
D) Then something happens & You find that sin/ that attitude is still buried
deep w/ in you – in the mist of the trial it rises to the surface
1) I HATE when that happens – Think – I thought I
was thru with this
only to find out – I still need to stay on guard
In the mist of the Valley’s Our sin becomes apparent – And
the areas where we still need to grow are revealed
A) Which brings us to the next gate –V.14 Refuse Gate - Even lower
than the Valley gate was the Refuse or Dung gate
B) Lowest
point in the city – See in those days they didn’t have a sewer system like we
have today { Raw waste & trash would run out
this gate
C) It would be
taken out of the Refuse gate and deposited in the Valley of Gehena outside the
city walls - It was smelly – dirty place
D) Imagine being the guys who got assigned to work
on this gate
1) Every day must have been a Challenge just dealing
with the smell
E) When studying this week I wondered if they were
the first ones to finish their gate – just to get away from that place ?
Sometimes in the Valley – the refuse / the Dung comes out of
our lives
Causing one of two reactions –
A) You can immediately deal
with the Dung – Lord help – forgive cleanse –
Or You just get used to it !! Learn
to live with it !
B) In Kenya there in
Africa there was a Refuse spot – place where the waste from the houses &
apartments ran down into pond
1) It was
DISGUSTING
C) Everyday
on our way to the Church – we would drive over this bridge over this area –
Smell was Putrid { Sickening
This is what amazed me – there were people who lived by that
place
A) There were
people who worked by that place – people who daily walked right by
B) In fact
there was an outdoor entertainment place – Club , right above that place – Friday nights packed
1) How could this be – OBVIOUS – They had grown immune
to the smell – immune to the waste – Used to it
C) It had to be unhealthy for them to be breathing
those fumes
1) Many in that area are very sick – Disease is
rampant
Listen friends we need to watch that – when the refuse is
revealed in our lives – that we don’t get used to it – don’t get immune
A) We need to
deal with it quickly – affectively – Repent
B) We need to
be careful as the world around us becomes more and more of a REFUSE PILE – more and more corrupt – ungodly
C) That we don’t grow used to the smell - - that we
don’t get used to the stink – If we do – we are going
to be Unhealthy !
1) Sick and weak Church
D) May the
Lord burn within our hearts a Conviction for righteousness
1) We see it
that we would confess it & deal with it KNOWING
1 John 1:9 If we confess
our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness.
Well once confession is made and the Dung is carried out –
we come to the next gate: THE FOUNTAIN GATE = Renewal
A) The
Fountain Gate speaks of our need to be filled with the Spirit !
John 7:37-39
On the last day, that great day of the
feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come
to Me and drink.38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his
heart will flow rivers
[ fountains] of living
water."39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in
Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not
yet glorified.
B) After we blow it and are forgiven we are in the place of LONGING for
a DEEPER work of the Spirit, a FRESH touch of God’s Spirit.
C) Once the dung is carried out we REALIZE: “Lord, I
KNOW you. I want to SERVE You as a fisher of souls.
1) I am IN THE WORD, those foundational truths of
the faith.
D) I have
gone through the VALLEYS and I have made CONFESSION of sin. But something is
missing -
1) Aware of this important Fact - I NEED more POWER and LIFE.
EX. D.L.
Moody locked himself into a hotel room in New York City
and said: ‘I will not come out of this room until I have the power of
the
Holy Spirit in my
life.”
A) He came out of the room three days later &
the world was never the same.- THAT is
the kind of touch that you and I need.
B) The FOUNTAIN
GATE is the place where we say: “Father, I am NOT going to stop seeking You
for that overflowing experience of the Spirit.
C) Two Problems in the Church today: #1 Too many believers walking around trying to live the
Christian life & serve the Lord in own Power.
#2 There are many people who are trying to be filled but
they have not yet been emptied –
A) They haven’t
gotten rid of the Dung – hasn’t been confession
B) There
hasn’t been repentance { That has to happen first before the Fountain can be
poured out !!!
1) Pivotal growth spot in the
life of a Christian when he/she realizes I can’t consistently live for God /
serve God – w/out the HS Power !!!
C) After the
Fountain Gate we come to Richard Nixon’s favorite Gate
THE
WATER GATE V. 26 = Refreshment from the Word
One of the things that often happens in the life of a
Believer after they have been filled with the Spirit – greater thirst for the
Word
Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly
in all wisdom,
A) Where the
Old Gate spoke of the Doctrinal side of the Word of the God – Knowing the
truth’s of the Word
B) The Water Gate speaks of the Devotional side of the Word
1) The need that we all have to sit and allow the
Word to touch us in the deepest parts of our hearts
C) It is one thing to study the
WORD to become equipped – that is important
1) But it is an entirely different thing to have the
Lord’s word
speak to and Refresh your heart
Ps 119:25 My soul clings to
the dust; Revive me according to Your word.
A) God’s word has a way of reviving our souls – I
miss devotions a couple of days or have a couple of days – devotions are dry –
I feel horrible
B) But then I have a day where God’s word speaks to
me deeply – Nesthe Plunge – standing under a water fall on a blazing hot day –
Refreshed
1) Prompts this kind of response in my heart
Ps 119:162 I rejoice at Your
word As one who finds great treasure.
Jer 15:16 Your words were
found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my
heart;
A) The Old
gate speaks to us of the Worth of the Word – the water Gate speaks to us of the
Word that works
B) It refreshes us – it sustains us – it is
that treasure that keeps us moving in the Lord
C) It is a key
point in every believers life when they move from that place of going to the
word – just for information
1) Looking at the word to
discover how to be a better wife/ husband / parent
looking for answers to problems – all of which is
important
D) The Bible is our guide book – it is our play book
for living – but we are to read it for more than INFORMATION
1) It is also a book of INTIMACY – it is God’s love
letter to us – He wants to speak to and minister to our hearts
Well after the Water Gate came the HORSE
GATE V28 The Horse Gate speaks to us of the Rapture of the Church
1
Thess 4:16-18 .16 For the
Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an
archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise
first.17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them
in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the
Lord.18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. { Believers comfort – No Tribulation { All believers accept 144,000
Jewish men – Special mission
1 Cor
15:51-54
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We
shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed --52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an
eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the
dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this
corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
The Book of Revelation
tells us that AFTER we have been taken up by Jesus into heaven, having spent
seven years with Jesus in a honeymoon
A) During that
time the earth is going to be going thru 7 yrs of intense tribulation – like
the world has never seen
B) Everyone who
didn’t believe in Jesus – wasn’t walking with Jesus is going to be left behind
–
1) Endure this horrific time –
If not shortened no flesh would survive
C) After which
we are told in Revelation 19 that Jesus is going to come back to the earth
riding on a white horse
1) We are going to be coming back with Him also
riding on white Horses
D) Jesus is
going to restore the earth – to it original beauty – we are going to rule and
reign with Christ
1) LAST WEEK – This life the
Prelude : the story before the story 1,000 yrs
After that
ALL OF ETERNITY
Now when Jesus returns we are told something radical in
Zech 14:4
4 And in that day His feet will stand
on the Mount of Olives,
Which faces Jerusalem on the east.
And the Mount of Olives shall be split
in two,
From east to west, Making a very large valley;
Half of the mountain shall move toward
the north
And half of it toward the south.
A) Then, according to Ezekiel 44:2, Jesus will enter into the
city of Jerusalem through the East
Gate.
1) Which is why This is the
next gate mentioned. THE EAST GATE V.29
B) Upon His return, Jesus
will enter the EAST GATE with His
glory, and with authority.
1) When the Turks had heard
this, around the year 1100 AD said: “If that is the
gate that the Messiah of Israel is to enter upon His return, then we will seal
it up so that He can not re-enter it.
C) But in so doing, they fulfilled the
very prophecy of Ezekiel 44 which said that the EAST GATE will be sealed before He comes.
1) If you go there today,
you can see that gate sealed up with brick.
D) But Jesus will return ,
the gate will be opened, He will rule the earth for 1,000 years, and we will be
with Him.
What happens after this : The GATE OF MIPHKAD v.31
Miphkad = Judgment or inspection
A) 2 Cor 5:10 For we
must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive
the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad
B) JUDGMENT SEAT is the Greek word “Bema”. It was the place where
awards were given in athletic events.
1) It was NOT a judicial
place where sentences were handed down. It was a place of rewards.
1 Cor
3:12-15 Now if anyone builds on this
foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,13 each one's
work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be
revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is.14
If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.15
If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss;
C) So we who
are in the Lord are going to be judged for our work here on the earth – MOTIVES
– gold silver stone –that endures
1) Wrong MOTIVES - Wood hay
stubble burned up
Now for those who don’t know the Lord they have a different
Judgment that they are going to face {
A) Rev 20 –
Most of the Chapter deals with this Judgment – God is going to gather everyone
throughout history small & great
B) They are
going to be judged on the basis of rejecting His Son
C) Simple: Test is there name written in the Lambs book of
life
1) Not in that
book – they are going to be thrown into the Lake of fire
2nd
Death – Experience eternity – living in place of
torment
D) Outer
darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth
1) This is what we commonly call – HELL
Wait how can a living God send people to a place like that ?
Answer is He doesn’t – in fact Jesus said that it wasn’t made for man
A) But men are
going to end up there – Because of their rejection of JC
They will go there of their own FREE WILL
B) But I
didn’t know someone might Protest – Well Revelation 20 also tells us that the
Books are going to be opened
1) Play back of your life –
every rotten thing – AND every time you had the opportunity to receive Christ
and didn’t
C) As the books are opened it will be revealed why
your name is not written in the lambs book of life !!!
Obvious question is how to I make sure that my name is
written in the book of Life - BACK TO
THE SHEEP GATE
A) Full circle
– Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega the Beginning and the end – the first &
the Last Author & finisher of our Salvation
B) Starting
point – the Door – the sheep gate – the shepherd who lays down his life for the
sheep
C) The
shepherd who leaves the 99 to go and find the one lost
Your
heart today: Name in the Lambs book of Life
Living
for Christ today ? Or have you become comfortable with the refuse in your life
– the Dung –
Living for Now – Or the bigger picture – Eternity