Swing Wide You Heavenly Gates

- I know some find this quite difficult. Some have said to me "but you’re telling God what to do. You can’t do that!"

o The thing is: you’re not telling God what to do. (You’re right- you can’t do that!) Rather: He shows you what HE wants to do and He makes you a co-worker in bringing it about.

o For some reason God needs us to work with Him down here in bringing His rule and reign about

Sure- He could do it all Himself, and sovereignly zap people

- but WE need to work hard, plough, sow, water, tend, reap, keep for people to be saved. Work on a seemingly ’human’ level for it to happen

- join with God in working in the spiritual realm through prayer for the gates… floodgates of blessing… to be opened spiritually

- God involves us. We are co-workers with Him

Now, he majors on one side of the ’work’, but what a bloke called AC Dixon (a great preacher and pastor of Chicago’s famous Moody Church) declared is true:

"When we rely upon organization, we get what organization can do; when we rely upon education, we get what education can do; when we rely upon eloquence, we get what eloquence can do, and so on. Nor am I disposed to undervalue any of these things in their proper place, but when we rely upon prayer, we get what God can do."

Contributed by: Guy Caley on www.sermoncentral.com

So- don’t be surprised if when you ascend the hill of the Lord and connect with the immanent God you find yourself

- weeping in intercession, or shouting in prayer,

- groaning for the lost or crying out "swing wide you heavenly gates!"

o it’s there in scripture. In Is 40 the ’prepare the way for the Lord’ is the prophetic prayer of Isaiah and the prayer of the Forerunner, JTB

o it’s also phenomenally relevant to our City, isn’t it?

" a city where Jesus has been held up as Lord for almost 2000 years

" The Lord is easy to find, here.

" In the words of TS Eliot (in a poem called ’Little Gidding) "you are here to kneel where prayer has been valid"

" Prayer has been valid, here!

" A city where the walls are down- but now we pray God will swing wide the gates that Jesus may come in!...

Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Who is this King? Christ Jesus is this King!

- fling wide the gates that He may come in! Open up! Be lifted up!

Let’s close:

It’s His world. He loves it. He is creator and Lord of it. He wants everyone in it to know of His love and accept His Lordship- now, willingly, while they can

- but are you willing to consecrate yourself in service, holiness and prayer to play your part so this can happen?

- Are you willing to be a vehicle through which the Holy Spirit can pray, with groans and inexpressible words if necessary?

- Are you willing to feel God’s heart for this world and this city and cry out "be lifted up oh you gates and ancient doors that Jesus may come in!"?

Such is the generation (and actions and intercession) of those who seek Him, who seek your face, oh God of Jacob

- selah!

Sing:

This earth belongs to God

Did you feel the mountains tremble