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Understanding the Gates of Life
by Gates and doors are very significant in the life of human beings. A city without a gate is open to various unwanted things and personalities. Just as in the physical, there are also spiritual gates and doors. Throughout the bible, roles played by gates, provide an important area of interest. Both physically and spiritually, gates serve as an entrance to confined areas. The bible records many important decisions and events taking place at the gates. It was at the gate Abraham negotiated to purchase the cave where he buried Sarah. (Gen 23:10) And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying, (Gen 23:11) Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead. Gates or doors serve as a notice board for angels to determine whether the inhabitants of a house are children of God, or not. In Deuteronomy 6:9 the Lord instructed the Israelites to write his word upon their gates. Deuteronomy 6:9 (9) And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. Also, at the gates, judges sat and gave judgement. (Deuteronomy 16:18) Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment. Likewise, Deuteronomy 17: 5 records: (Deuteronomy 17:5) Then shalt thou bring forth to thy gates that man or that woman, who have committed that wicked thing, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. From the scriptures we gather that elders of the land converge at the gates. The bible says of the virtuous woman: Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. (Proverbs 31:23) Also, Deuteronomy 22:15 records: Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the token of the damsel's virginity to the elders of the city in the gate. To prevent what is undesirable from entering through the gates they must be manned: (2 Chronicles 23:19) And he set the porters at the gates of the house of the LORD, that none who was unclean in any thing should enter. The gates are also a place where praise and thanks was given: (2 Chronicles 31:2) Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests and the Levites after their courses, every man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister, and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the tents of the LORD. Not only is a city or house incomplete without a gate, gates require purification: (Nehemiah 12:30) And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, and the gates, and the wall. Kind of gates Having established the significance of gates let us look at the kinds of gates in existence. There are various kinds of gates. In the bible we have: The gates of death: (Job 38:17) Have the gates of death been opened to thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shades of death? The Gates of Praise: (Isaiah 60:18) Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. The gates of righteousness (Psalm 118:19): Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will enter them, and I will praise the lord. We also have the fish-gate, the sheep gate the prison- gate and the old gate as revealed in (Nehemiah 12: 39). This verse alone mentions these four gates. Likewise, Nehemiah mentions the Dung gate and the Valley gate. Having looked at the various kinds of gates in the bible lets us examine the characteristics of gates. The bible makes it clear that gates can be good or bad, loved or hated. Psalm 87:2 states The lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Gates may also be named after individuals. Ezekiel 48:31-34 speaks about gates being named after the tribes of Israel. Isaiah tells us that gates also lament and mourn: (Isaiah 3:26) And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate, shall sit upon the ground. As seen in Lamentations, when a city is under oppression even the gates are affected. Lamentations speaks about gates being desolate: (Lamentations 1:4) The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness. If gates can lament and mourn this suggests that gates can laugh and rejoice. Surely what goes through a gate would be a determinant of the category it belongs to. In the spiritual realm virtually everything has a gate: We have gates of heaven, and gates of hell. Psalm 78: 73 states: Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven. While we read in Matthew 16:18: And I say also to thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church: and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Also, the treasures and riches of earth have gates that need to be opened for one to gain access: Isaiah 45:1-3 states: Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two-leaved gates, and the gates shall not be shut; I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut asunder the bars of iron: And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, who call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. From this biblical passage we gather that -access to wealth could be gained through these spiritual gates (here referred to as leaves gates.) This passage indicates: -That there are hidden riches and wealth that no man has access to unless the Lord opens the spiritual gates that guide them to him. -That unless a higher authority decrees otherwise, a gate of wealth and prosperity open to ones life may be shut by the enemy. Please, at this point, let us pause to take the following prayer points: Oh Lord, Open up unto me the gate of wealth and riches in this land. Every power that has closed the gate of prosperity against me die in the name of Jesus. I shall locate and open the gates of prosperity in this land in Jesus name. Why is it, that one man would have toiled and sweated in a country for years, yet another, with less or similar educational background, within a short period succeeds where the first man failed. It is more likely that to one the spiritual gates of wealth and riches are opened (as in the case of Cyprus) while to the other these gates remain closed. From the bible we also discover that side of a gate on which one is found could determine ones fate. This seen in the story of Rehab in Joshua 2:19 And it shall be, that whoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. Remember the words of Jesus in the book of John: John 10:9: I am the door if by me any man shall enter he shall be saved Possessing the gates of ones enemies This now takes us to the principle of possessing the gates. He that controls the gate determines the fate of those within. The Gazites sought to capture Samson by possessing the gate which he was bound to pass through when leaving the city. Samson however overcame them by taking possession of the gate where they lay in wait. (Judges 16:2-3) And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they encompassed him, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, in the morning when it is day we shall kill him. And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of a hill that is before Hebron. No wonder the bible states as a major blessing that the children of Israel should possess the gates of their enemies Genesis 22:17 (17) That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; While Genesis 24:60 states: (60) And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them. It is based on this principle that modern supermarkets in the western world are run. No longer do they mount surveillance devices throughout the store. Rather there is a detecting device at the gate. Since you can only leave the store through the gate any stolen item is easily detected. Those running these stores realize that they do not need to monitor the entire building. They only need to take charge of the gate. If the enemy controls or possess the gate of ones life it means whatever you take in or out of your life/home is with enemys knowledge. The day you come home after praying fervently the enemy detects and plans how to counter its effect. This is applicable the other way round. If you posses the gates of the enemy there is nothing that goes on in his camp that the Lord will not reveal to you. Please close your eyes and take these prayer points: Oh Lord purify the gates of my life. Oh Lord let me to posses the gates of my enemies in the name of Jesus. My enemies shall not posses the gates of my life in the name of Jesus. When the foundation is attacked it will affect the doors/gates. Acts 16:26 states: And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. The gates of your life What we have seen so far prompts us to ask pertinent questions: What kind of gates do you have in your life are they good or bad. What are the names in the gates of your life go by? Which powers/ personalities watch over your gates? Do you realize that if you allow an un-repented harlot to enter through the doors of your house spirits of sexual immorality could be introduced into your family? Such spirits will have a legal ground because you opened up your gates to them. This is why we must be careful of the kind of friends we keep and bring home. We also have gates in the human body. We have the mouth gate, the eye gate, the ear gate the touch gate and most importantly the private part gate. Many people have destroyed their lives through allowing various spirits access through these mentioned gates/openings. Why do people have immoral thoughts after viewing pornography? Because the moment you set your eyes on it the spirit of sexual immorality gains access through the eye gate. Do you have greed your in life? It most likely gained access through your mouth gate. Has the spirit of lust and seduction gained access and taken control of your eyes? Is the spirit of immorality in charge of your private parts? The answers to these questions will determine whether your gates are loved or hated by God. Another important question is which gates have you gone through in life? If you visit the house of a Witch-doctor or Voodoo priest you have gone through an evil gate, and thus attracted an evil spell. The demons that control such gates will have a legal ground to attack you. The same happens if you visit a restaurant or a shop dedicated to strange gods. What are images of Dragon idols and Buddha doing in Chinese restaurants, or strange idols doing in Indian cuisines? Have you ever asked yourself why these images are prominently placed there? There is a particular Indian cuisine eatery along Bethnal Green here in London. Besides the doorway, is a four foot tall image of an Indian goddess? Only few of those who patronize the cuisine will understand that they are entering into a covenant with the goddess in question. Are your gates mourning or rejoicing, are they happy or sad? When many go through problems in life they fail to realize it is due to the fact that they have opened or gone through the wrong gates. Or, otherwise they have allowed the wrong spirits/ people to enter through the gates of there lives. Wherever there is a door or gate there must be a wall. If indeed we have gone through the door of life which is Jesus then, we are within his Kingdom/city. Remember Jesus said in John 10:9: I am the door if by me any man shall enter he shall be saved If we are within the walls of his city then the enemy cannot gain access. Are you on the right side of the door? Or have you allowed the enemy an opening through the wall via sin? Are there unexplainable evil trends in your life? It may be as a result of the opening of evil doors? Please take the following prayer points: Every evil personality watching over the gates of my life, die in the name of Jesus. Every evil door I have opened to my enemies shut by fire in the name of Jesus Every gate of sorrow in my life be replaced by gates of joy. Every effect of any evil gates I have gone through upon my life die in the name of Jesus. My gates of life shall not be desolate. My ruined gates be repaired in the name of Jesus. Postscript: Repent and believe, remember hell is real, heaven is real. No matter how long we spend here on earth it cannot be compared to the time we shall spend in eternity. Hebrews 12:14 states: Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. Pastor, Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, Angel Branch (MFM Angel) Unit 2/3 Packington Sq, Packington St, Off Essex Road, N1 7PS, Angel , Islington, London , UK. Tel: 07913586145 e-mail: [email protected] Copyright: Flaming Fire Publications All rights reserved Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |