“The Sheep Gate Message 1”
The Spiritual Application of the Gates
Nehemiah 3:1-31 Monte T. Brown
August 3, 2014 Sunday Morning
Stapp Zoe Baptist
Prelude
It is important to mention that the Word of God is ever living and ever speaking to us through each word on these pages.
Contrary to what some may teach or think God has not changed and God has not given up on Israel anymore than he has given up on us. He has a plan for Israel and he has a plan for us.
Each day that passes, we see more and more of the Word of God unveiling before us.
In light of the events unfolding in the Middle East and the fact that we are living in end times I see it is important that we understand the importance of the Promise Land and that city called “The City of God.”
“The City of God” is Jerusalem and it has been in the headlines of history for thousands of years.
Part of the uniqueness of this city is the wall that surrounds the city. Within the wall are the gates that outline the premature of the city.
Each one of these gate sends us a message that applies to us today.
The book of Nehemiah list ten of the twelve gates that needed repaired.
I would like us to look at all twelve gates and gleam insight from each of these gates.
Each one of the gates is unique and gives us a specific message about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
These messages are vivid and clear in our day just as they were in 445 BC and prior.
God uses these gates to reveal the coming Messiah to the Jews of that day and today.
They reveal Him from His first coming sacrifice to His Second Coming and the final judgment.
It is fascinating how God finds many different ways to tell the message of Christ, the good news. This is one more.
Praise be to God the Father who desires salvation for all. 1 Timothy 2:4 MB
There is so much spiritual applications within these gates, their positions in the wall of the city, the order in which they were rebuilt and the purpose of each gate.
Each gate speaks to us of the different experiences in our Christian walk that each of us will face.
Their order and position is very specific and give us insight into the journey that God takes each of His children on.
Introduction
As I said before the Word of God is ever living and ever speaking to us through each word on these pages.
Contrary to what some may teach or think God has not changed.
Replacement theology is not scriptural and God has not given up on Israel anymore than he has given up on us.
He has a plan for Israel and he has a plan for us.
As we begin this series on the Gates of Jerusalem let me remind you of the Spiritual Application of the Gates.
There is so much spiritual applications within these gates, their positions in the wall of the city, the order in which they were rebuilt and the purpose of each gate.
Each gate speaks to us of the different experiences in our Christian walk that each of us will face.
Their order and position is very specific and give us insight into the journey that God takes each of His children on.
Sometimes we just go right past the best part and never see it.
We need to turn to the book of Nehemiah as we examine the gates of Jerusalem.
The first gate is “The Sheep Gate.”
The Sheep Gate
Nehemiah 3:1 Then Eliashib (ih LIGH uh shib) the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah (MEE uh) they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel (hu NAN ih el)
Nehemiah 3:32 And between the going up of the corner unto the sheep gate repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants.
The very first gate mentioned is the Sheep Gate and there is a good reason that Nehemiah started with the Sheep Gate.
It was called the Sheep Gate because this was the gate which the sheep and lambs that were to be used in temple sacrifices were bought through.
It was a key gate for the worship of God.
Sometimes we forget the most important gate and pass it by because it wasn’t the biggest or finest gate.
It is the Sheep Gate that brings to us the forgiveness of our sins.
In the Old Testament, it was the Sheep Gate that opened the way for the sacrifices for our sins.
In the New Testament, it was the Sheep Gate that opened the way for the sacrifices for our sins.
On the day of his crucifixion, Jesus carried his cross out of the city, passing through the Sheep Gate.
Just as many thousands of sheep had passed through this gate, the Lamb of God passed also.
Those sheep that were brought through this gate to be offered had to examined thoroughly for any blemishes or defects before they could ever enter the city.
Only those who appeared perfect could be considered as worthy of offering to God on the Brazen Altar.
Once they were into the city and presented at the temple, they were examined even more closely insure that nothing would disqualify them for use as a sacrificial lamb.
The Law of Moses, as given to him by God, stated that only a perfect lamb would be acceptable by God as an offering for the sin of Israel...
The Sheep Gate is a symbol of the very first experience we encounter in our Christian life.
Worship for the Ultimate Sacrifice
It is not through our own righteousness and our own blood, but by the perfect, precious Blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world, that we are made righteous.
Not one of us could qualify to enter into the New Jerusalem without his sacrifice.
Because Jesus was accepted, the Sheep Gate of that New Jerusalem is open for all who will enter by accepting Jesus’ sacrifice for their sin.
The Sheep Gate represents, in symbolism, the cross and the sacrifice that was made for our sins.
That’s where our Salvation begins.
The first step in having any relationship with God is by coming through the Blood of the Perfect Lamb.
John saw that Perfect Lamb in Revelation 13:8, "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
The Sheep Gate then was the starting point of Nehemiah’s reconstruction project in rebuilding of the city just as it is the starting point of rebuilding our lives and our relationship with God.
The temple was finished on the inside and they there worshipping on the inside, but on the outside, there was unfinished work. The wall of Jerusalem were broken down, and its gates were burned with fire."
Worship with Meaning
Worship without sacrifice is no worship at all, it is like going to a football game and sitting in a stadium full of people but there are no players on the field.
You see when people worship without sacrifice people look at our churches and say Some God they have!
We become a reproach!
If you were to read through the entire 3rd chapter of Nehemiah, you will find that the Sheep Gate is also mentioned at the very end of the construction process, once the work on the walls of the city have come full circle.
This is because everything starts and ends with Jesus’ death on the cross.
The Cross of Christ is the central point of human history and the center point of eternal life.
All of God’s plans for your life and for mine are hinged upon our passage through the Sheep Gate and the acceptance of Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
Each one of these gates plays an important part in our lives.
Starting with the Sheep Gate and moving on to the other eleven gates, we find that twelve is sometimes used as the number of divine government.
Worship for Eternity
Twelve tribes, twelve apostles, twelve gates, and so forth. Compare the twelve gates of the millennia city of Jerusalem in Ezekiel 48:30-35 and the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:10-13.
Nehemiah was so heart-broken about the Sheep Gate’s condition!
The temple had been re-built for over 70 years and they still had not repaired the most important gate in the city.
We too should be heart-broken at the fact that so many churches try to function without the Sheep Gate in their lives.
The Sheep Gate, the place in which the sacrifices entered points us to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, for without this sacrifice there would be no forgiveness of sin, no salvation for mankind.
The good news of eternal life has to begin with the sacrificial lamb.
John the Baptist introduced Jesus as "the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world." John 1:29
The Apostle John reminds us of the "Lamb" throughout His Gospel and in the book of Revelation. Jesus is the Lamb!
It might be worth noting that this is the only gate that has not locks or bars, which reminds us that door of salvation is always opened as John 3:16 states: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Conclusion/Invitation
It is where you begin your life as a Christian.
There is a phrase that is embossed across the hearts of all Christians; “You are not your own, you are bought with a price.”
It is the cross at work!
When you became a Christian you gave up control of your life, because it is not your own anymore, it belongs to Christ.
The Apostle Paul reminds us that; “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
The first step in having any relationship with God is by coming through the Blood of the Perfect Lamb.
John saw that Perfect Lamb in Revelation 13:8, "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
The Sheep Gate then was the starting point of Nehemiah’s reconstruction project in rebuilding of the city just as it is the starting point of rebuilding our lives and our relationship with God.
If you were to read through the entire 3rd chapter of Nehemiah, you will find that the Sheep Gate is also mentioned at the very end of the construction process, once the work on the walls of the city have come full circle.
This is because everything starts and ends with Jesus’ death on the cross.
The Cross of Christ is the central point of human history and the center point of eternal life.
All of God’s plans for your life and for mine are hinged upon our passage through the Sheep Gate and the acceptance of Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
