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Mission Statement
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GATES I’ll never forget my first view of Jerusalem. It was in 1983 and I was on a tour of Israel with a group from my church. We’d spent a week in Galilee before driving south to Jerusalem for the second half of our 11 day adventure. Seeing the sights along the way, we didn’t reach the city until after dark. Our bus ascended the mountains around the Holy City, going past and through the portion of Jerusalem that has built up outside the Old City Walls through the years. It was pitch dark outside and there were very few house lights or street lights. Our first view of the Old City was from a high elevation equal to the elevation of the Old City. The walls were illuminated with spotlights. This caused the City of God to appear as a golden jewel suspended in mid air. For me, that was the beginning of a love affair with Jerusalem. No matter how many times I see it in the harsh reality of the day, when I think of Jerusalem, I visualize that golden jewel and I feel as though I have literally seen the Heavenly City where we will all one day dwell. That’s a wonderful picture, a wonderful goal. But what’s the real picture? What is the dusty, harsh reality of such a city? What are the lessons we can learn from the Old City and how do those lessons apply to us today? Answer: There are many lessons. Probably too many to even think about. There’s the history of the city. The buildings. The people. The wars. The ceremonies. The worship. The animals. The commerce. The art. The religions. The streets. The walls. This lesson is an overview of the GATES. What can we learn from the gates of the city of Jerusalem? Can they even mean anything to us today in the 21st century? First of all, let’s quickly examine the purpose of a gate. Obviously, a gate is a controlled entrance into or out of someplace. Violence shall no longer be heard in your land, neither wasting nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise. Isaiah 10:18 As soon as we are saved, a protective wall of Christ’s blood is put around us – a wall of Salvation. This wall stops enemies from coming in – at least for a time! The enemies can come through the gates (our heart, eyes and ears) to possess the city (us) if the gates are not restored properly. In the Bible, gates represent many things and were very important. They were made very strong, were heavily defended, open during the day and closed at night. They were also… - The civic centers of the city where news was exchanged and discussed Genesis 19:1;23:10; 34:20; II Samuel 15:2; Nehemiah 8:1; Psalm 69:2, 12 - Where markets flourished Nehemiah 3:1,3 and where trading centers for imported items were located Isaiah 3:18-24 - Where the elders sat to administer judicial matters Deuteronomy 16:18; 21:19; II Samuel 15:2; Joshua 20:4; Ruth 4:1; Amos 5:10-15 The biblical term, “to be within the gates,” referred to being under the authority and protection of the elders of the city who presided in the gates. Deuteronomy 15:7; 31:13 - Kings sat at the gates to meet with their subjects II Samuel 19:8; I kings 22:10; Jeremiah 38:7; II Chronicles 32:6 - Where you could attract the attention of the sovereign or dignitary II Samuel 19:8; I Kings 22:10; Esther 2:29, 21; 3:2 - Where the reading of the Law and proclamations took place Joshua 20:4; II Chronicles 32:6; Nehemiah 8:1,3 - Where Prophets and priests delivered admonitions and pronouncements Isaiah 29:21; Amos 5:10; Jeremiah 17:19 - Criminals were punished just outside the gates I Kings 21:10; Acts 7:58 - Where strangers visiting the city could pass the night if they had no place to stay - They provided protection for the inhabitants. When the city was surrounded by a wall, gates were the only way in or out of the city. Unlike a simple garden gate, city gates were carefully designed to deter the entrance of enemy soldiers. Sometimes they were built in a zigzag design that caused a man on horseback to slow down when entering the city. In 2002, we rode into the old city through the Zion Gate in a big van with our friend Marty Cohen. It is built in a narrow, tight zigzag fashion. If you walk two or three abreast, you have to be alert in order to not run into someone coming around the corner from the opposite direction. But we were in a wide long van. How Marty managed to maneuver without a single scrape or without running over someone was a mouth-dropping miracle. - Gates were often flanked by towers on which watchmen stood guard day and night. If they didn’t have towers, they’d have chambers built on the side or above for the watchmen to observe the traffic going in and out of the city. In September, 2004, we led a small group of intercessors through the Arab section of the Old City and out the Damascus Gate. Unlike the Zion Gate, the Damascus Gate has one zig in its zag. But it also has compartments or at least a walkway above the gate for watchmen to guard. The first time we went through this gate, we were immediately surrounded by a bunch of Israeli soldiers who were apparently on break as they were eating and drinking and laughing. Wanting to take it all in, I looked up to the top of the gate’s opening and there was a soldier standing guard, alertly watching all the activity and checking out all the people going in and out of the gate. It was an identical situation to what we read about in the Old Testament, except this soldier had an M16 and probably a cell phone to call for reinforcements if needed. Obviously then, gates are very important for both physical and spiritual protection. Defending the city often began at the gates. In the Bible, city gates represented the authority and the glory of the city. Isaiah 3:26; Jeremiah 14:2 In battle, to “possess the gates” is a biblical term meaning to possess the entire city. Genesis 22:17; 24:60 Remember the story of Samson when he went down to the city of Gaza in the territory of the Philistines? Judges 16:1-3 They’d laid a trap for him and were waiting in the city gate to kill him. At midnight, Samson tore the city gates, doorposts and cross bars, which were the symbol of their authority, and carried them off to the Israelite city of Hebron 38 miles to the east! In a literal sense, this was truly possessing the gates of the city. It was a triumph for Israel and humiliation for the Philistines. The Israelites were instructed to establish authority with judges at the city gates and as a place of judgment to insure justice and obedience to God’s laws by the people. Deuteronomy 16:18-20 Their job was to protect the people from the outside world in spiritual and moral ways just as the king’s army was to protect them physically. The application of all of this is obvious when you think of yourself as a city. When warning against the dangers of pornography, watching violent movies, or listening to vulgar speech, haven’t you heard people talk about being careful what you let in through your eye-gate or your ear-gate? Even if you haven’t heard those terms, you can easily see that your eyes and ears are gates into your mind. You can open them to trash or you can close them. You are the one who is the guard (watchman) over what you see and what you listen to. You are the one who is in control. I used to quote Isaiah 33: 14b – 17a to my children as my reason for not allowing them to watch cartoons on TV. This chapter talks about the difference between the “sinners” and those who would survive in a world undergoing judgment. "Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, He who despises the gain of oppressions, who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes, Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil; He will dwell on high; His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks; Bread will be given him, His water will be sure. Your eyes will see the King in His beauty." If you are an experienced Christians, you know about this. You have also heard plenty of sermons and lessons about how we have to be gatekeepers of our homes, guarding what and who we allow into our home and family. But what about the gates that concern your ministry. First of all, let me say the obvious that “doing ministry” isn’t just for full-time Christian workers who have a 501©3. Ministry isn’t something you do; it’s something you are. The businessman in the office and the sales clerk in the store is every bit as much a minister as the man in the pulpit or the woman feeding the poor. Fortunately, the church is beginning to wake up to this fact. If you are alive, you have a territory, a place where you live and work. In that place, you have a measure of spiritual authority. If you are a Christian, you have greater authority than the unbeliever simply because the God of the universe lives in you and He is bigger, stronger and smarter than the god of this world. So, OK, you have a territory that consists of your home, your place of work, your church, your city, your state, your nation. What is your specific responsibility in each of these areas? By virtue of your standing in Christ, you have authority; what do you do with it? How do you administer that authority? In 1997 or 98, I attended what I think was the first meeting designed to link intercessors with each other from all across the state of Texas. It was held in Houston. One of the speakers was a pastor from Oklahoma City who told a story that I’ll not soon forget. He said that he asked the Lord to show him where the seat of Satan was in his city. When he didn’t get an answer right away, he began to drive all over the city asking the Lord, “Is it here?” “Is it there?" He drove past strip joints, jails, drug houses, ghettos, affluent neighborhoods, waiting to hear God say, “This is it.” Finally, when he got no witness in his spirit as to where the enemy’s seat of power was, he asked the Lord again. The answer he heard was initially quite shocking. God said the seat of Satan in Oklahoma City is the church!!! Then He went on to explain, “Satan has always wanted to sit where I sit, in My seat. Therefore, the seat of Satan in any city is in the church because that is where I sit.” He then went on to speak a very convicting word. “What Christians allow in the city with restraint, unbelievers practice without restraint.” If we are to take this revelation seriously, this means that we are responsible for the crime, the drugs, the ungodliness. For this reason, it is imperative that we once again, take our place as God’s people and sit as elders in the gates of our city – whether that city is our work place, our city, our state or our nation, and begin to take the authority God has given us to render judgment. When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29:2 For years, most Christians have not taken their God-given authority in the affairs of their work places, in their city, state or nation. The result is that our gates have been torn off in the name of Openness and Tolerance, and the walls have began to fall down as we abdicated our place to the humanists, the Eastern religions, the cults and the occult. But, God has been stirring His people, the Holy Spirit has been doing His job of convicting of sin, and slowly but surely, Christians are beginning to take their place. We currently face an American church that is nearly starved to death, struggling for survival. As we saw so clearly when people flocked to churches for answers after 9/11 and found none, we are a church full of ignorant people sitting on a pew, leading a life of hopelessness and despair, wondering why God doesn’t answer their prayers and not having anyone to give them answers. Jesus was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. We are now sent to the lost sheep of the house of Christianity. The church is full of God’s people, of course, but they’re still lost. Lost in ignorance and caught in the brambles of powerless, faithless doctrine. It is up to you and me to reset the gates to our “city” and fulfill our function in this hour because, once walls are in place, it is the gates that are the vulnerable points. Closed gates are opened by prayer, as the angel did for Peter as a result of fervent prayer. Acts 12 God will not only open closed doors, but, as we fulfill our jobs as gatekeepers, He will reveal deep and hidden things just like He did for Ezekiel when He showed him the “image of jealousy” and other abominations at the north gate of the inner court, at the altar gate, and the door of the court. Ezekiel 8 Sometimes, it seems to me that when the Old Testament prophets got into prayer, God was always taking them to some kind of a “gate.” I believe that this is because gates are the key to intercessory prayer. We all know that we are to enter into the Lord’s “gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise.” But He also wants us to get past the enemy’s gates so we will be able to see what he’s up to and what he’s planning. After you learn his secrets, you can then go back to your Commander in Chief and get the strategy for the next battle, and be on the offensive instead of the defensive. When Jesus said that the “gates of hell shall not prevail against” the church, He was talking from an offensive position. Most of the sermons I’ve heard about the gates and walls of a city have centered in the book of Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the walls and the city of Jerusalem. And I’ve watched people as Gary and I joined others all across the nation do our best to walk in the lessons of Nehemiah. I can see that many of the walls have been rebuilt though there is much more work to do. Now however, it’s time to reset the city gates and take our place. The rebuilding of the gates of Jerusalem symbolized a work of the Holy Spirit that prepared people for a renewed encounter with God and His covenants. Isn’t this what our nation needs today? Renewal and revival? Each gate had its place, purpose and importance in the overall picture, and any one gate left undone would leave the city vulnerable to hostile siege from outside forces. The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.. Psalm 87:2 Both Nehemiah and John’s vision of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:12-14 reveals that regardless of the gates that currently guard the Old City of Jerusalem (which were built anywhere from the 16th to the 19th century), the Holy City as God sees it has 12 gates. They are. . . Priority Gates The Sheep Gate (Benjamin Gate; Gate of the Flock) The Fish Gate The Old City Gate (Middle Gate; Mishneh Gate; Jeshanah Gate) The Ephraim Gate Purifying Gates The Valley Gate The Dung Gate (Refuse Gate; Potsherd Gate) Power Gates The Fountain Gate The Water Gate The Prison Gate The Horse Gate (Foundation Gate; Sur Gate) Prophetic Gates The East Gate (Beautiful Gate; Kings Gate) The Inspection Gate (Miphkad Gate; Muster Gate; Gate of the Guard) Study each of these gates and you will glean remarkable understanding of how to live a victorious Christian life.
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