The Fish Gate Series

“The Fish Gate Message 2”

The Spiritual Application of the Gates

Nehemiah 3:3 Monte T. Brown

August 3, 2014 Sunday Evening

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.

The Gates of Jerusalem were often named for either according to their destination of the road that adjoined them or according to the purpose of what was located next to them.

The Fish Gate was where a fish market was located.

It was located on the east wall just west of the Gihon (ghee-khone’) Spring.

This gate is where the fishermen came to sell fish sometimes in violation of the Sabbath (2 Chronicles 33:14).

Almost every biblical mention of The Fish Gate involved either corruption of the people; or the aftermath of it.

Scripture

Nehemiah 3:3, "But Fish Gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof."

Prayer

The Fish Gate

To the north of the city of the city of Jerusalem lay the Sea of Galilee.

There are a number of smaller lakes and fishing grounds on the northern side of Jerusalem but very few on to the south.

This gate was called The Fish Gate because the fisherman coming from the Sea of Galilee would bring their catch in through this gate to be sold in the city market.

I’m sure that Jesus walked through this gate many times as he began his ministry and the choosing of his disciples as they fished along the shores of Galilee.

One by one, he picked them as he spoke those words, “come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

That’s the same call that goes out today.

After we come to Christ through The Sheep Gate, the first commandment that Jesus gives us to “go out into all the world and preach the gospel to every person.”

The Fish Gate reminds us that we are to get involved in evangelism because we have been called to be ‘fishers of men’.

It is a natural progression in our Christian life that after seeing that Jesus dies for our sins, that we would want to tell others about it.

Surveys have shown that believers who have been saved less than two years win the most people to the Lord.

Their simple testimony of what Jesus has done in their lives qualifies them to be great ‘fishers of men.’

This Gate Represents:

“God’s call to transform the market place.”

This gate depicts the responsibility to be spiritual leaders for the market place.

It shows how God calls them to exercise their authority in the market place and how God holds spiritual leaders responsible for the moral conditions in the market place.

This model would suggest that pastor and spiritual leaders are not just called to a church congregation, or a ministry in a city, but they are called to the city itself.

This is further given attention by Jesus in His address to the 7-Churches in the book of Revelation.

He addresses the Churches by the name of their cities and holds them responsible for their spiritual conditions. (see Revelation 2,3)

In the market by The Fish Gate we are told, “They brought fish, and all manner of wares, and sold on the Sabbath. Nehemiah 13:16-17

When society becomes corrupt and secularized the two public ways it shows up is in the places of worship and in the business world.