Calling All The Gatekeepers
As I think of gatekeepers, I think first of those who bring race horses into the gates, and calm them to prepare them for the race, I also think of those who are the flagmen for Jets on aircraft carriers as they are launched from the gate and off the carrier.
I want to use as my launch scripture for the message today….
Psalms 24:7 Lift up your heads, O you gates (gates don’t have heads, people do) and be lifted up, you everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. v8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
The Hebrew word which is used here for gates, is “Shoh-are” and it means “One who escorts, ushers, or brings you in… One who guards the gate” The Hebrew word for “Doors” which is used here is “the place of entering in, or brought it”….
As we stand at the gates of this new season in our lives, we not only look at the things coming our way, but we look above and beyond them, to the one who has planned for all things to work out to thegood of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes and plans.
There are things that will frighten us and things that will excite us in this coming season, but as His children, we know that they will all have to pass through His hands first.
Maybe the Lord will return before the year is out and maybe not…..But whether He returns or not, we are called upon to “occupy until He comes”
Revelation 12:11 says that just like we have now overcome, we will continue to overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony.
What do you see? Our perception of what is ahead, becomes ourreality, and powers our faith or our fears for what is coming in the days and weeks ahead! It determines whether we achieve or not, whether we move ahead, stay where we are with no progress, or go backward… There are three kinds of people, those who make it happen, those who watch it happen and those who stand around wondering what happened.
Exodus 14:15 And the LORD said unto Moses, why do you cry unto me? speak unto the people, that they go forward. (That’s what faith does) Faith keeps moving forward, following His voice and His leading.Sometimes you have to command yourself to do what you don’t feel like doing. I have to command myself every morning! Your body is not who you are, Who you are lives in that body! I have to command my mind, my emotions, and my will, by my redeemed spirit….(look at this)
Luke 9:62 And Jesus said, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit (yoo'-thet-os…positioned or well placed) to (benefit or receive the benefits of) the kingdom of God. When you’re plowing, you first position yourself by looking across the field and targeting where you want to end up and you keep your eye on that spot. Otherwise your row will be anything but straight. It will be all over the place….
The truth is that we can have whatever He wants us to have if we are willing to surrender, to His plow, and we can accomplish whatever is in our hearts, if we want it badly enough to give it all up if He asks us to…and if we are completely convinced it can be done with God as our helper, there is no power that can stop us!You gotta know when to hold up, know when to fold up, know when to walk away, know when to run…..
I’ve said it many times and I will repeat it again…We have been given 4 phase power…. “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you”…..The 4 Greek words for power are, Dunamus, Ischus, Exeusia, Kratos…. The power to overwhelm what is trying to overwhelm you…(Dunamus) The power to cause little to become much… little is big…(Ischus) The power of delegated authority. When He sends us He backs us up fully.….(Exeusia) The power of invincibility..If He has sent us nothing can stop us (Kratos) If He says you’re going to the other side, it’s a done deal, no matter what stands in the way! He empowers who He sends!
It’s easy to look at how much better someone else has it….It’s easy to blame someone or something else, for our lack of success or progress... but in the end, we need to take personal responsibility for climbing up to our own full potential. In Christ we are tapped into power from on high! Colossians 3:1 So, if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things which Christ has provided. v2 Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on above all this- that's where the action is. See things from His perspective.
Gate Keepers see the bigger picture….We need to see things from the vantage point of where Christ is seated, and look at that which is far above what we see in the temporary realm! Because of that we don’t get locked into the moment. The past is the place we are getting ready to leave….God’s new beginning is the place we’re going…..and we have the road map, called the Bible, full of all the information we need.
A wealthy man and his wife, looked around the table at his family who had gathered for the family meal. "Boy, he said, “I do not have a single grandchild," and he gave a big sigh. "Listen everyone, I'll give a million dollars to the first one of my kids, who presents me with a little one to bounce on my knee this year…... Now, let's all say grace before we eat." When the old man opened his eyes from prayer, his wife was the only other person at the table.
(It’s amazing what the right motivation will accomplish)
Ralph Waldo Emerson…..”Write it on your heart that every day you live is the best day of the year”.
Steven Spielberg….None of us, by the end of the year, are ever really the same person who entered the year.
Tom Peters….This year, celebrate and showcase everything that you want to see more of in the rest of your life.
Jonathan Edwards….My first life commitment is that I will live for God. My second life commitment is that If no one else lives for God, I will anyway.
When Jacob stopped running and began to seek after God and walk in obedience to the Lord, Genesis 28 tells us that he came to a place called Haran and he fell asleep. While he slept, heaven opened and a ladder was revealed with angels ascending and descending between heaven and earth….he had come to a place of New beginning in his life, it was a gateway that had opened upbringing the glory of heaven to where he was. Jacob called the place Bethel, but God was trying to show Jacob, THAT HE WAS ACTUALLY THE GATEWAY through which the things of heaven were entering into this world. You are the gatekeeper, you are the place where heaven enters earth….
All those who believe, become the gateway or the doorway to heaven, where the things of heaven ascend and descend between heaven and earth!
When the Israelites cried out in Egyptian bondage, God came down to a man named Moses. He was the gate keeper. We are the gate to someone’s victory, someone’s liberation, someone’s defining moment. Ephesians 2:5 “God embraced us. He took us and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! v6 Then He picked us up and set us down in heaven's highest places in the company of Jesus. v7 Now God has us where He wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. v8 This is all His idea, and all His work. All we do is trust Him enough to let Him do it. It is certain that He is able to finish all that He has begun throughus”!.
(would you tell someone… “Don’t you dare give up on God”….)
Don’t remember what God has forgotten.....and don’t forget what God said He would remember. We can only walk in one direction at a time. The problem comes when we try to look backwards whilewe're walking forward with Him….I need to tell someone, don't listen when others say you're finished, what’s the use, it’ll never happen…. Shut your ears to that, until you’ve reached the place God is bringing you to. Jesus knows who you are, and what you did and He still loves you, but He loves you enough to not leave you like He found you”…. Don’t be so busy wishing for the visitations of the past that you miss the greater things God has yet prepared for you and through you….
Louis Le'Amour once said, "There will come a time when you believe everything is finished, but you will find that it is only a new beginning."
Genesis 1:1 – tells us that In the beginning God created something new that had never existed before, and God is STILL creating today. He's creating new opportunities, new direction, new vision and new anointing. God is creating new hearts. He's creatingforgiving hearts to replace bitter ones, He's creating hearts of faith to replace hearts of fear. He’s creating loving hearts to replace toxic, jealous, vindictive hearts. He’s replacing broken hearts with hearts that are healed and full of new hope. Yes, we can rise up and walk in newness of life, this is a brand newday a new window to the rest of your life is opening for each of us to view something bigger, and better and beyond all that has come before!!!
And each one of us is actually the gateway, where God enters earth and begins His wonderful, mysterious, amazing work!!!! Richard Rohr said that “Spiritual Maturity is the ability to joyfully live in an imperfect world” I came across some reminders that we are living in an imperfect world…we know…
1---That Light travels faster than sound. That’s why many people appear smart until they begin to speak.
2---If you think nobody cares about you, try missing a couple of payments.
3---Never take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
4---Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.It’s an imperfect world, but we are the gate way to new beginnings.
Paul said…1 Corinthians 16:9 “For a great door of opportunity is opened unto us…and there will be a "right time" for each of us. v13 Keep your eyes open, hold tight to your convictions, give it all you've got, be resolute, v14 keep on loving and never stop”.
In 1 Samuel 17, when the Philistines faced the armies of Israel, King Saul only saw the giant Goliath and it limited his ability to perform in an effective and successful manner paralyzing him into inaction…He saw only the problem, and not the opportunity that God had given into their hands.
That’s why David rejected the armor of Saul, because he could not fight and win, in the fear and the intimidation that had gripped Saul. David had developed his own weapons and skills…So, Saul sat in his tent, while David ran forward towards the enemy and to better things to come.
While David saw Goliath, (all 91/2 feet of him) he also saw something else above and beyond the giant, something greater, and something that made him more than a match for the challenge he faced. It was more than the wealth, more than the position he would be given and the kings daughter (ya’ll give a whistle) which David had been promised if he won! David knew that Goliath wasn’t fighting him, he was fighting God, and all David had to do was get his own fears, intimidation, doubts, and unbelief out of the way and LET GOD WIN!!! Fear, intimidation, doubt and unbelief, are no match for a person whose values are founded on faith and trust in God! With all that tried to stop David, he succeeded because he guarded the gates that brought heaven into earth. God could reign on the throne of David’s life and ambitions. In order to guard the anointing which we have received of the Lord, we must guard the thought gate, the heart gate, the eye gate, the ear gate, and the mouth gate. These are all places of entrance into our spirit. It is so easy in this day we live, to allow your spirit to become confused by all that is taking place in the world around us. As the old saying goes, "the smallest boat can cross the biggest ocean as long as the ocean stays out of the boat"!
Proverbs 16:32 "He that controls his emotions is better than the mighty; and he that rules his own spirit (is greater) than he that takes a city".
The conquest of ourselves, and our own passions, requires more dedication and commitment, and a more steady, constant, and regular management, than ruling a city. When our emphases is on our rights, and our feelings and our injustices the new level of faith and prayer…..and the greater level of living for God is hindered and blocked, and we are not wide open for God’s fresh supernatural manifestation in the earth!
As we gather here today, on the threshold of new beginnings and new things from God that are waiting to enter through our lives…We are compelled to “Keep Move Forward” in our way of thinking. What are the areas that we have been thinking too small for too long. What are the areas where we must think bigger for our Church, our Home, our Family, and our Life in general. What can we do, moving forward, to be the gateway for God to do bigger and better things in our life, in the days and weeks ahead?Everyone that is part of a family, is the gateway into their home… Every employee is the gateway into the workplace…. Every neighbor is the gateway into their neighborhood….
Ephesians 3:18 “Reach out and experience the breadth! Test the length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! 19 Live in the fullness of the love of God. 20 God can do anything, you know - far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it by working through us, deeply and gently, by His Spirit.”
We are compelled to “Move Forward” in our emotions, in the season ahead. We can’t be wearing our feelings on our sleeve. We must let God rule our feelings by His Spirit within us. We can’t let those around us rule over us by controlling our emotional health.We may have prayed. We may have Fasted. We may have done all the right things, but until we “Go Forward” in our emotions, we can undo everything else, and our emotions will lock us into past hurts, offences, injustices, broken relationships, and unresolved conflicts…… when we move forward in emotional health and stability! As we are emotionally delivered and set free, we will experience Unrestrained, free and liberated praise, worship and love flowing forth in power,
1 Timothy 1:5 The point is simply to love with your whole heart - love which is uncontaminated by self-interest, ulterior motives and counterfeit faith, by a life that is open to God. 6 For those who fail to adhere to this, soon wander off into emotional dead-ends.
Also look at Proverbs 4:23 “Guard the entry to your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow all the issues of your life.”
When I’m driving my car, vital information is relayed to me through the dash board. Oil pressure, speed, tire pressure, milage, and who’s too close to me, the condition of the road, battery charge, and how much gas, to mention a few…
What if you had an emotional or heart dash board, which allowed you to constantly get a read out about your heart’s condition. There would be red, green and yellow lights along with other information feed back. Fear, pride, greed, self-pity, resentment, anger and a needle which would indicate if you are becoming spiritually lukewarm. Oh, yes, there would be a flashing light to let you know you hadn’t prayed or read the word and a green light would come on if your spiritual tank was healthy and full. Philippians 4:13 from the Passion Bible...
It’s time to be the best version of you that you can be. It’s time for you to take a stand and embrace happiness. It’s time to stop blaming others for what you have or don’t have. It’s time to stop wondering why I’m not providing things that I’ve given you the power to go after yourself. It’s time to laugh more, to stop making excuses, to stop looking at your situation as if it’s hopeless. It’s time to take steps, no matter how small, toward your dreams. I have made you powerful!
I recall that a missionary had observed how each person in the village had their own path which led out to their personal place of prayer and meeting with God. When a person had a solid prayer life, their path would have no grass on it, but if they weren’t keeping up their prayer habit, *……everyone could tell, from the grass on their God path…
Is there grass growing on your God path? Is it time to renew your commitment and passion for Him? Is it time to remember the vows you made to Him, and the zeal you once had for Him….We are the place where God enters this earth, we are the gate keepers….
Our Father in heaven, as we stand at the beginning of this new season we confess our need of Your presence and Your guidance as we move into the future. We each have our hopes and expectations for what lies ahead of us—but You alone can give us the strength and the wisdom we will need to meet its challenges. So help us to humbly put our hands in Your hand, and to trust You and to seek Your will for our lives during the coming days. In the midst of life’s uncertainties, You assure us of the certainty of Your unchanging love.
Lord Jesus, In the midst of life’s disappointments and heartaches, You are the stability and comfort we need. In the midst of life’s temptations and the pull of our self-will, help us not to lose our way but to have the courage to do what is right in Your sight, regardless of the cost. And in the midst of our daily preoccupations and pursuits, open our eyes to the sufferings around us in our world, and help us to respond with compassion and sacrifice to those who are friendless and in need.
We pray for our nation and its leaders during these difficult times, and for all those who are seeking to bring peace and justice to our dangerous and troubled world. We pray that You would bring our divided nation together, and give us a greater vision of what You would have us to be. Your Word reminds us that “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” As we look back, we thank You for Your goodness to us—far beyond what we have deserved.
May we not remember what You have forgiven and forgotten but may we never forget all Your mercies that have brought us to this present place, and to a new commitment to make You the foundation and center of our lives. Father, we thank You for the promise and hope for this new season, and we look forward to it with expectancy and faith. We ask this, in the name of our Lord and Savior, who by His death and resurrection has given us hope both for this world and the world to come. In Jesus’ name…..Amen.
I speak to each one of you, as the gatekeepers God has ordained you to be. This is a call for the gatekeepers, who guard the gates and refuse to let the enemy have any place. Our pastors are are believing God that all which God has designed and prepared for you, and all that He has fashioned you to be, will come together in an awesome display of what is best for your life and all those around you in this season ahead. That you truly will be the gateway, through which God can operate freely and powerfully in your circle of influence and connections…. and in all the things that touch your life and your family.
