Swing Wide the Gates, pt. 3
Nehemiah 3
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/SwingWideGates3.html
parts 1 & 2 are here:
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/SwingWideTheGates.html
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Quick review of first 6 gates... [slide]
1. The sheep gate.
v. 1 Thru this gate they would bring the sacrificial animals to be laid on the altar in the temple. It was the only gate that was 'sanctified.'
This gate reminds us of Jesus, the Lamb of God.
2. The fish gate.
v. 3 Thru this gate the fishermen would bring their catch from the Mediterranean. What does this remind us of? Soul winning!
Jesus said to follow Him and He would make us fishers of men. Do you know what that means? We have no right to call ourselves His follower if we aren't fishing for men!
3. The old gate.
v. 6 The old gate led to the new quarter. This reminds us of our never changing message. We may try new methods along the way, but our old message never changes.
4. The valley gate.
v. 13 It opened to a low place. Every believer needs this gate, which speaks of humility.
5. The Dung Gate.
v. 14 This was where the garbage was carried out. It led to the dump. This reminds us of repentance. It is important to take out the trash in our lives.
6. The fountain gate.
v. 15 This fed the water system of the entire city. Water for drinking is symbolic of the Holy Spirit.
On screen is an overview of it all.
Now, the last 4 gates...
7. The water gate.
v. 26 No, this has nothing to do w/ Richard Nixon. And half of our crowd says, Richard who?
Our country has really come a long way. First we had George Washington who could not tell a lie. Then we had Richard Nixon and he could not tell the truth. Now we have Barack Obama and he cannot tell the difference!
Jerusalem was one of the few great cities of antiquity that was not built near a major river. So they had to depend upon reservoirs and springs. The water gate was near a very important water source. We just reminded you that in the Bible water for drinking was a symbol of the Holy Spirit, but water for washing is a symbol of the Word of God.
Psalm 119:9
9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
Ephesians 5:26
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
When we get saved and Jesus washes away our sins it's like an all over bath. The Bible calls it the washing of regeneration.
Titus 3:5
5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Salvation is an all over spiritual bath. But after we are saved and begin to trudge thru this filthy world we still need a daily time of cleansing and confession. Biblically, the washing of the hands and feet speak of this kind of daily cleansing.
In the OT, God's people worshiped in the tabernacle, then later in the Temple. Only the priests were allowed into the actual building. Before they entered it, every single time, they had to do some things.
Exodus 30:17-20
17 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
18 Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein.
19 For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat:
20 When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not...
In the previous chapter it says that when a man became a priest he was given an all over ceremonial bath. It was a one time event. But every time he entered the holy place he had to rewash his hands and feet.
You and I only get saved once, but we need the daily washing off of what comes into contact w/ this sin polluted world.
The hands represent our work for God. We need to begin each day w/ clean hands, and at the end of the day we should scrub up before bed. We need people to come to church ready to minister w/ clean hands. I must do self inspection and cleanup before I get up to teach or preach, or sit down to counsel, or make a decision. And I don't care if you take the offering or scrub the commodes, do it w/ clean hands. And if the latter, please wash up afterward too!
Isaiah 52:11
11 Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing...be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD.
How do we spiritually wash our hands? By dipping our hands daily into the water of the Word! Don't just read it, rub it around good, especially in between fingers and under nails.
The feet represent our walk with God. Enoch walked with God, and so did Noah, and that should be our goal. And the only way to walk w/ God is to have a daily relationship w/ His Word ... we need to take our walks by the water! We need strong Christians. And a clean Christian will be a strong Christian. Cleanliness leads to Godliness!
ill.--do you like your tea strong or weak? And don't tell me no sugar ... you must not be saved! What is the difference between strong tea and weak tea? The amount of time the bag spends in the water!
I don't know who the strongest Christian in the room is, but I know that whoever they are, they spend a lot of time immersed in the water of the Word!
Need more faith? Don't just pray for faith...
Romans 10:17
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Spend time in the Word and you will grow. Your heart will become good, fertile ground when soaked w/ Bible moisture.
v. 26 What is missing in this verse compared to all the other gates? It's the only one which wasn't repaired. Evidently it wasn't broken. And neither is the Word of God!
Man continues to come out w/ many different versions of the Bible and new interpretations ... but forgive me for my lack of interest ... mine ain't broken! There is no new and improved version.
"Forever, O Lord, thy Word is settled in heaven!"
8. The horse gate.
v. 28 It symbolizes warfare. I could give hundreds of verses, but here's just one...
Jeremiah 47:3
3 At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses, at the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands;
At the battle of Armageddon the blood will run in the valley 200 miles long as deep as a horse's bridle! And let's never forget that the Christian life is warfare.
2 Corinthians 10:4
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2 Timothy 2:3
3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
The Christian life is not a frolic, it's a fight. Not a waltz, but a war. It's marching into enemy territory, not tiptoeing thru the tulips! Our enemies are the world [external], the flesh [internal], and the devil [infernal].
Our best hope is to put on the whole armor of God.
Ephesians 6:10-18
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
These things protect our mind [helmet], our heart [breastplate], and all the way down to our shoes of the gospel. In those days those Roman soldiers had cleats on their shoes which means stability and helps us to dig in. Christians - get a grip! Get stable, dig in, and march as a soldier...a sermon in shoes!
And how about the shield of faith [defensive] and the sword of the Word [offensive].
ill.--a soldier in the heat of battle had his gun jam on him. The enemy was charging straight for him and he was defenseless, desperate! For some unknown reason he pointed his finger at the man and said 'bangedy bang' and the guy fell down dead. He looked at his hand and thought, wow! Another man charged him and again, bangedy bang, dead. He couldn't believe this could be! Then a whole group turned toward him. He just pretended he had a bazooka and said, 'boomedy boom.' They all collapsed. He was ecstatic! Another soldier just slowly strolled toward him. Bangedy bang! No result...he just kept coming. Boomedy boom! No change. They guy calmly and smoothly kept coming toward him, and it was obvious he was saying something, but he couldn't make it out until he got right up on him...he rolled right over him saying, 'tankety tank, tankety tank!'
The whole armor of God is our tankety tank against Satan!
9. The east gate.
v. 29 It led directly to the temple. Tradition says that when Jesus went to the temple he entered thru the east gate. And the Bible says that when Jesus returns at the second coming [not the rapture], but 7 years later at the end of the tribulation, when He lands on the Mt. of Olives and enters Jerusalem to sit on the throne of David and establish His earthly millennial kingdom, He's entering thru the east gate!
So this gate speaks of the second coming of Christ!
Ezekiel 43:2
2 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.
Ezekiel 43:4
4 And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.
Notice what the east gate looks like today [slide]. It's all filled in w/ stone. Do you know why? In the 16th century when the Turks ruled Jerusalem, there was a Turkish sultan by the name of Suleiman the Magnificent [modest fellow!], an Arabic ancestor to many of today's Muslims. He grew tired of hearing that the Jews' Messiah will someday return thru the east gate. He said, I'll show them, and ordered the gate sealed w/ stone! He said, "There's no way He can come thru there now!"
You can't help but laugh at a guy like that! It's going to take a lot more than stone to hold Jesus Christ back. He won't have to bat an eyelash to turn those stones to powder!
Now, the east gate reminds us to live in light of His soon return. It could be any day. It could be today! We are told to watch for him...watch and pray. If you have a loved one who is lost, watch and pray, because Jesus is coming soon!
Not only prayer, but purity is important in light of His coming.
1 John 2:28
28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
Sometimes I hear people say they wish Christ would return, but based on the way they are living they should be asking Him to wait and give them time to get some things right. Good news: it doesn't have to take long, it's just a heart decision away!
Where will you be, what will you be doing, and how will you be living when Jesus returns?! I know people who, tho' Christians, still liked to go to some questionable places who made a decision to stop going there, not because they were really living sinfully like some others there, but because in light of the soon return of Christ they simply decided they don't want to be found in a place like that at the rapture.
Prayer, purity, and finally, personal soulwinning. The Bible teaches that someday soon the last one who is gonna get saved will get saved, and Jesus will return. That could be today! Could it be you? Could it be your loved one? When God's righteous quota is met, it will be too late!
The way this world is going, the signs of the times all around us, the prophecies fulfilled, I expect Jesus to return anytime, and I fully expect it to be in my lifetime. If He doesn't, you have my permission to put on my tombstone, "He died surprised!" And then Bro. McKee can take over as pastor!
10. The inspection gate.
v. 31 That's what 'Miphkad' means. It was where the army was reviewed and registered. This reminds us of the judgment seat of Christ.
Romans 14:10
10 ...for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Don't confuse this judgment of believers w/ the Great White Throne Judgment of non believers, when they will be cast into hell. That's very real, but an entirely different occasion and result. We won't be judged for our sins, but inspected, and rewarded. Our sins have already been judged on the cross of Calvary. If this is a judgment it is not of our sin, but of our stewardship, our faithfulness. How have we used our time? 168 hours every week. Just a tithe of that [10%] would be about 17 hours, and yet some can't make a 1 hour commitment each Sunday morning faithfully, let alone add a couple more hours for other services.
Our time, our talents...how about our treasures?!
v. 32 We're back to the sheep gate!
It all begins and ends with Christ, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world Who will bear His scars for eternity future in heaven. Swing wide the gates!
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/SwingWideGates3.html
parts 1 & 2:
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/SwingWideTheGates.html
