Series: Rebuild The Gates [#5]
THE DUNG GATE
Nehemiah 3:14
Introduction:
There are some subjects that I love to preach about; but this isn’t 1 of them. Instead, the Lord wants me to talk about something nasty and stinky.
Nehemiah 3:14
For those of you who are not sure what the word “dung” means, let me define it as nicely as I can- It means “manure”. The human and animal waste was taken out of the city through this gate to the City Waste Facility located in the Hinnom Valley. This was where all of the garbage and waste was taken.
This is a great illustration of the affects of sin. We know that sin is anything that goes against God; but what we need to see here is that its affects are that of manure. Let me give you some reminders about manure and sin.
Manure…
* Stinks.
I lived a ¼ of a mile from a feed lot and I will guarantee you that if the wind was blowing towards the west, that I could smell the manure to a point that I could taste it; and I will tell you that when you leave your sinful waste laying around in what belongs to God that it will stink and others will have to smell it.
Do you know what we would do when the wind started blowing towards the west? We would leave and go somewhere else. Do you know what happens when God’s people leave their sin laying around for others to smell? They leave.
Manure…
* Stains.
Have you ever walked out of your vehicle across the lawn to go into your home and you obviously walked through something a dog had left for you in your yard? What happens? You track it into your house; and you stain your carpet, your clothes, etc… Not only does that stink up your house; but it leaves stains from all of your next steps. Our sins don’t just affect us. Other people end up accidentally walking through our sin and dragging into their lives and homes.
Manure…
* Stores.
If manure is not cleaned up and removed it will begin to store diseases; and then flies and other insects will begin to move it around to us. Sin left untaken care of will begin to grow and spread to a point that it will begin to kill and destroy. Something so small as a virus can destroy a life. I have learned this first-hand.
The Dung Gate is where…
1. We get rid of waste.
We know that sin left unattended will ultimately destroy us, so we must get it out of our lives. How do we do that?
1 John 1:9
The Dung Gate is where…
2. Fertilizer is created.
It is amazing to me how God can take all of our waste and use it to help other people.
Luke 13:6-9
Christians, we are to be the man taking care of the vineyard. Instead of watching people die in their sins and being destroyed, we could use that which had been waste in our lives to fertilize someone else’s.
The Dung Gate is where…
3. We must pass through daily.
This is not something that we can allow to pile up. We need to deal with the manure in our lives on a daily basis. If not, it won’t take long to cause problems.
Luke 9:23
