“THE NORMAL CHRISTIAN LIFE”
(THE GATES OF THE CITY)
Matt 13:52 (NAS)
52 And He said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has become a
disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings forth out of
his treasure things NEW AND OLD."
Here is a message I preached some time ago, but I was led to BRING OUT OF THE OLD and God
gave me some UPDATES on this FABULOUS message:
I was asked recently, “Pastor, why am I not as happy as I thought I would be as a
Christian?” - - I HAVE THE ANSWER:
(There is a map of Jerusalem in Nehemiah’s time that goes along with this message.
Look for it as a link on our www.heartofthehills.com or email, call or write the church
office for a copy.)
Nehemiah chapter 3 – the rebuilding of the walls and gates of God’s chosen city
is a type and shadow of what building the “Normal Christian Life” will be like:
1] Sheep Gate- becoming born again. John chapter 1:
John 1:12 (NKJ)
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become
children of God, to those who believe in His name:
At the END of this message I will give you an opportunity to receive Him J
For now, let’s look at the Christian’s view of this gate:
We are His sheep – look at John chapter 10:
John 10:1-4 (NKJ)
1 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the
sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
2 "But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and
he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 "And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and
the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. (We know His voice – we just need to
know the Word of God better in order to compare what it says to the voices we hear and
practice listening.)
1 a ] Tower of Hananel (Hebrew) = God has favored you. We are GREATLY FAVORED to be
CHILDREN of the MOST HIGH GOD !!
2] Fish Gate-
Mark 1:16-17 (KJV)
16 Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his
brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to
become fishers of men.
Just as Jesus called Simon and Andrew, He is calling US to follow Him and learn to become
fishers of men. Those who obey and serve God in this area have GREAT joy each time someone
receives Jesus through their ministry ! !
3] Jeshanah Gate- (Hebrew) = “storage”, this gate represents the fact that we
need to study the Word of God and “store away” as much as we can while we are in
this early, joyful, hungry stage of our Christian lives! (The map calls this the
“Gate of Ephraim”, but the book of Nehemiah calls it the “Jeshanah
Gate”.)
3 a] Broad Wall = (Hebrew) = “the wall of Rahab”. I believe this is our first
test as a Christian. Do you know what Rahab was? A prostitute. How much do you believe in
the Mercy of God? How much do you believe in the Saving Power of God? Will you accept a
born-again former prostitute sitting in your church family with unconditional love?? I
believe a LOT of Christian stop RIGHT HERE .. their self righteousness is MORE IMPORTANT
to them than the MERCY of GOD ! ! Will a wife forgive and live with a husband who has
committed adultery? Would a MAN forgive his wife? GOD DID ! ! ! (Hosea & Gomer)
Let’s ACCEPT what God is doing in the lives of those of us around us and GO ON and
GROW ON with GOD J
3 b] Tower of the Ovens- It is NORMAL after being a Christian for a time, to begin to feel
HEAT, PRESSURE for being a Christian and TRIBULATIONS. Jesus said, “In this world you
SHALL HAVE tribulation”. In Proverbs it says, “If you crumble in the day of
adversity, your strength is SMALL”. THIS is when you begin to WALK BY FAITH (act as
if the Word of God is TRUE). This is when our mettle is tested. Will we STAND FOR GOD?? He
stood for US ! !
4] Valley Gate- This one almost speaks for itself. IT IS NORMAL after being on the HIGH
with your new found Christian faith, that you may feel like you are going through a
VALLEY. Keep on TRUSTING God, because the Bible says that we will NOT be tempted BEYOND
that which we are able to HANDLE. With EVERY temptation or test, God provides a way of
escape or VICTORY ! ! ! LOOK for it .. TAKE IT .. GO ON WITH GOD .. IT IS WORTH IT ! ! ! !
Now, as days go by, sometimes it seems that you are getting farther away from God .. look
at the map of the city and check your progress as you are going SOUTH along the wall and
FARTHER from the TEMPLE. TRUST GOD .. He is actually WITH YOU .. it just SEEMS that you
are farther from His Presence. O BOY .. HERE COMES ANOTHER GATE .. FINALLY .. ITS BEEN SO
LONG … Uh Oh .. it’s the …
5] Dung Gate- an ASH HEAP, A REFUSE HEAP, A DUNG-HILL. Here is where God the Father
requires us to dump our stuff … HERE is where we decide to get holy, set apart for
HIS use .. no longer guided by every human whim, but guided by the Word and the Love of
our Father God. 2 Cor 6:14 – 18 COME OUT from among them – BE SEPARATE says the
Lord – LAY IT DOWN – LAY DOWN your worn out calling – LAY DOWN your soiled
clothes and pick up My CLEAN ones – clothes of RIGHTEOUSNESS and pick up your new
CALLING J
AFTER you have laid down your selfish ambitions and picked up the CALL of God, you will be
SO HIGH that you will BARELY NOTICE that the path is STILL LEADING downhill …
6] The King’s Gate- NOW you are dressed and ready to meet the KING … NOW your
prayers will seem more like CONVERSATION and less like PLEADING … now you KNOW HIM ..
it was WORTH IT ALL, wasn’t it??
7] The Fountain Gate- Inside you, you begin to receive STREAMS of LIVING WATER, STRENGTH,
DIRECTION, HELP and POWER. AND, notice, the way starts to lead UP again .. BACK to the
TEMPLE of the PRESENCE of GOD . . .
8] The Gate of the House (Barracks) of the MIGHTY Men- You have been TESTED, you have been
TRIED IN THE FIRE and made STRONGER … now you can fellowship with the STRONG, the
MATURE, the LOVING ONES ! ! !
8 a] The House of Eliashib (Hebrew) = “God Restores”.
8 b] Armory- we pass by the ARMORY of God and pick up weapons to defeat the foe !!
8 c] The Tower of Ophal (Hebrew) = “hills” the defensive TOWER (Heart) of the
Hills J
9] Water Gate- The Nethinim got to repair the Water Gate. This is special because the
NETHINIM are servants of the TEMPLE – GOD’S HOUSE. Only THEY get the special
blessing of being watered by the presence of the Lord as they serve Him in His temple ! !
10] The Horse Gate - We STILL use the term HORSEPOWER to measure things that are POWERFUL.
We have been given POWER over ALL the power of the enemy .. AND .. this is where we learn
to pull TOGETHER .. a TEAM of horses can accomplish MORE than one .. “One can put a
THOUSAND to flight and TWO can put 10,000”.
10 a] The Temple – we FINALLY find ourselves right next to God’s Temple again
and we experience His presence REGULARLY . . .
11] East Gate- What can I say? This is the Gate by which JESUS will return ! ! We LONG for
HIM and we LONG for His presence J
11 a] The Upper Chamber of the Corner – This represents the special and intimate
relationship God wants to
have and WILL have with us. He calls us to spend TIME with Him … out of that
WONDERFUL time together springs LIFE and POWER !!
12] The Muster (or prison) Gate- Comes from the Hebrew word (Miphkad), “an
appointment, mandate, a calling” – Here is where we finally get our
“orders”, our “assignment from God” .. we are now “captives”
of Jesus and we march to His orders.
. . . so let’s START the JOURNEY shall we??
Sheep Gate- (becoming born again). John chapter 1:
John 1:12 (NKJ)
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become
children of God, to those who believe in His name:
So, simply bow your head and pray, “Lord Jesus I receive you as MY Savior … I
believe God raised You from the dead to forgive MY sins … I believe Your blood makes
me clean … I believe Your Bible when it says … ‘Whoever comes to Me …
I will NOT cast him out … but I will take him in’ … I believe You will NOT
cast me out … but you are taking me in … to YOUR family .. and into YOUR Kingdom
… RIGHT NOW J JESUS IS MY LORD ! ! !