Please take your Bibles and turn to Nehemiah chapter three.
Nehemiah chapter three.
And we're continuing, well, I did,
I preached a sermon called the 10 Gates of Jerusalem,
which I preached on Wednesday for the Wednesday service.
And this is the 10 Gates of Jerusalem part two.
So if you've missed part one,
make sure after this message,
you go back and listen to the first sermon on this topic.
And so with part one,
I went through the first five Gates that we read about
in Nehemiah chapter three.
And now we're going to go through the last five.
So Gates number six to 10.
Now look at Nehemiah chapter three verse 15.
Quick reminder.
So what is this about?
Nehemiah, his job is to go and rebuild
the walls of Jerusalem, all right?
And these walls, in this chapter,
we have these 10 Gates that are named within the wall, okay?
So it's important to have a wall,
but it's also important to have Gates.
The wall will protect you, the wall will defend you,
but the Gates will allow things to come in
and out of your lives.
And what we're saying is we're taking this picture
of the city and applying it to our personal lives.
And so our lives, in order for it to be a functioning life
that's serving the Lord,
we need to make sure that yes, we're well defended,
we're well grounded, but at the same time,
we have these Gates
and we take a spiritual lesson out of this
in order for us to be just well rounded,
to be a functioning Christian, right?
To be a productive Christian.
Now Nehemiah chapter three, verse 15,
we're up to gate number six.
It says, but the gate of the fountain
repaired Shalom, the son of Kolhozah,
the ruler of part of Mizpah.
He built it and covered it and set up the doors thereof
and locks thereof and the bars thereof,
and the wall of the pool of Siloah by the king's garden
and unto the stairs that go down from the city of David.
So what is this gate?
What is gate number six?
Well, right at the beginning of verse number 15,
it says the gate of the fountain,
the gate of the fountain.
Now what's interesting about this gate
is this obviously gate opened up to what we read there,
with the pool of Siloah,
but this gate gave access to a place where clean water
was accessible for washing and irrigation,
for washing and irrigation.
So it's called the gate of the fountain, okay?
So some people believe that
maybe some of the ceremonial washing by the priests
before they went into the temple,
that they used the waters that were coming from this area.
Now please keep your finger there
and go to John chapter nine.
Always keep your finger near Nehemiah chapter three
because this is the main text that we're working through,
but go to John chapter nine, John chapter nine.
So what's interesting about this is that
obviously through this gate,
we can see this pool of Siloah that is mentioned, right?
This pool of Siloah
and this pool also has a very important story
in the New Testament with Jesus Christ.
John chapter nine in verse number one reads,
And as Jesus passed by,
he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
And his disciples asked him, saying,
Master, who did sin, this man or his parents,
that he was born blind?
Jesus answered,
neither have this man sinned nor his parents,
but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
What we see there brethren is the fact that
when someone is sick, if someone is blind,
if someone has some type of deformity,
it's not that necessarily that that person has sinned.
It could be that's just God's will for that person.
And in this story, this man that was blind from his birth,
the purpose of him being blind
was that God's work would be revealed,
would be made manifest through his healing.
Look at verse number four,
I must work the works of him that sent me
while it is day the night cometh when no man can work,
as long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
So what is Jesus Christ, what does he call himself?
He calls himself the light of the world.
And who is he about to heal?
A man who is blind, okay, a man who is blind.
And yes, we can take the illustration of salvation,
can't we?
We can take the illustration that before we were saved,
we were blind, and we had the light of Jesus Christ come
and shine, the gospel made sense.
And we've believed on his name.
But you know what?
Even as a Christian, even as a believer,
you can be blind about many, many things.
You know, if you're saved and you never attend church,
you never listen to good preaching,
you never open up the Word of God
and look at the light of God's Word in your life,
you're going to be blinded in many areas of your life.
And so what I wanna take from this
is the need for even as a saved person,
a saved man or woman or child,
the importance of having the light of God in our lives
so we can overcome the blindness that we have in our lives.
We don't wanna say ignorance, right?
As Christians, look at verse number six.
When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground
and made clay of the spittle,
and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.
And he said unto him, go, wash in the pool of Siloam.
So that pool of Siloam is the same pool
that we read about in Nehemiah chapter three,
which was called the pool of Siloam, okay?
So go, he says, go, wash in the pool of Siloam,
which is by interpretation sent.
He went his way therefore and washed and came seeing.
And so what I want you to notice is the blind man
was healed by Jesus Christ.
But what he had to do, the condition of his healing
was he had to go to this pool of Siloam
or pool of Siloam and be washed, okay?
He had to do what Christ was asking him to do
in order to overcome his blindness,
in order for him to see, right?
And it's amazing, he washed,
it said that at the end of verse number seven,
and washed and came seeing.
You see, we need to be washed
and we need to be able to see from our blindness.
During John, go to John chapter seven and verse number 38.
And I'm going to tell you what I believe
this pool represents,
or this gate of the fountain represents.
Go to John chapter seven, verse 38 now,
John chapter seven and verse number 38.
The Bible reads, he that believeth on me,
as the scripture have said,
out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
What is this living water that's been referred to here?
Verse number 39.
But this spake he of the Spirit,
which they that believe on him should receive,
for the Holy Ghost was not yet given
because the Lord was not yet,
because that Jesus was not yet glorified.
So do you notice in John chapter seven, verse 38,
this flowing of living water
that is to come out of our belly, spiritually speaking,
is a reference to the Holy Ghost.
That when you believe on Jesus Christ,
that he will give you the Holy Ghost.
Now at this point in time,
the full measure of the Holy Ghost was not yet given
until after the ascension of Jesus Christ.
And so what I believe the gate of the fountain represents
is the Holy Ghost.
And brethren, we need the Holy Ghost in our lives.
You do have the Holy Ghost,
but the only way you can understand
what the Holy Ghost wills in your life
is in order for you to be walking in the Spirit.
The other name for the Holy Ghost, of course,
is the Holy Spirit.
And when we talk about walking in the Spirit,
we don't just mean walking in the new man,
and that's part of it,
but we also mean walking in the path
that the Holy Spirit is leading us in.
You're in John, go to John chapter 16.
Go to John chapter 16 and verse number seven.
The Holy Spirit plays such an important role
in our spiritual lives today.
John chapter 16 and verse number seven reads,
again, these are the words of Jesus.
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth.
It is expedient or profitable for you that I go away,
for if I go not away, the comforter,
and that's a reference to the Holy Spirit,
the comforter will not come unto you,
but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin
and of righteousness and of judgment.
So Jesus Christ points to three major ministries
of the Holy Spirit when he came after Christ.
Look at verse number eight again.
And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin,
that's number one, and of righteousness,
that's number two, and of judgment.
Now, here's what's funny about this.
Well, it's not funny, it's really sad.
Some people read verse number eight
where it says he will reprove the world of sin
and they say, see, the Holy Ghost has come
in order for you to repent of your sins for salvation.
Now, how does one get saved?
What must we do to be saved?
The Bible's very clear.
It's to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved, right?
For God so loved the world that he gave
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him
shall not perish, but have everlasting life.
Salvation is by believing on the work of Jesus Christ,
by receiving Christ in faith.
And you know what?
The Holy Ghost plays a role in your salvation process
because salvation is called being born of the Spirit, okay?
Being born of the Spirit.
Now, notice verse number nine.
Let's keep going, verse number nine.
So one of the works of the Holy Ghost
was to reprove the world of sin.
Look at verse number nine.
Of sin, now Jesus Christ explains what he just said,
of sin because they believe not on me.
So what is the sin that the Holy Ghost
is challenging the people of this world in?
What is the sin?
Is it the fact that they have to turn
from their sins to be saved?
No, what is the sin?
Well, if Jesus is saying that because they believe
not on me, well, that's the sin.
Most people in this world do not believe on Jesus Christ
and that is the sin that the Holy Ghost
is trying to convince men of
through the preaching of the Word
so they would believe on Jesus Christ,
so they would believe the Gospel, okay?
So reproving the world of sin
is to cause people to stop believing
and to believe the Gospel, to believe on Jesus Christ.
Notice verse number 11, sorry, verse number 10.
Of righteousness, this is the second part
of the work of the Holy Spirit, of righteousness.
Now, this is for us who are saved
because it says, because I go to my Father
and you see me no more.
You see, part of the work of the Holy Spirit
is because Jesus has gone,
he's no longer walking the earth,
the Holy Spirit is gonna help us
to live righteous lives, all right?
And if you find yourself still struggling
with the same sins constantly,
you're making no progress in your spiritual life,
it's because you're not allowing the Holy Spirit
to do his work in your life.
You're not necessarily walking after the Spirit.
And look at the next part, it says,
verse number 11, of judgment,
because the prince of this world is judged.
Now, this has more to do with sin, like the sins,
because here we have the Holy Spirit
judging the devil, judging Satan,
or the prince of the world as he is called here.
You see, part of the work of the Holy Spirit
is to enlighten us, to give us understanding
of what is wickedness.
You know, yes, we can learn from the Word of God,
but also by the work of the Holy Spirit,
he's able to show us what is right and what is wrong,
to protect us from the evil
and the wicked devices of the devil.
Now, look at verse number 12.
I have yet many things to say unto you,
but ye cannot bear them now.
So Jesus says, look, there's a lot that I wanna teach you,
but you're not ready.
Verse number 13,
So how do we grow in knowledge?
How do we grow as Christians?
How can we make sure that our bellies are flowing
with this living water?
It's by listening to the Spirit of truth.
It's by listening to the Holy Spirit,
because the Bible says he will guide you into all truth.
It's so important that it's, yes, the Bible is important,
but so is, as a reader, that you're reading it
through the new man,
you're reading it through the Spirit of God,
because it is the Holy Spirit that guides us into all truth.
Why do people make mistakes when they read the Bible?
You know what, one person asked me once,
why is it that we all have the same Bible,
but then, you know, that church believes like this,
that church believes like that, why is it?
It's one simple reason.
It's because those that read the Bible
and have a total different interpretation
than what the Bible teaches,
is because they're not reading it
with the power of the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Spirit is not guiding them in all truth,
potentially because they're not even saved.
And if they're not saved,
they're not going to be able to understand
this spiritual book.
The Holy Spirit is essential in our lives
to help us understand the Bible, yes,
but also as we live our lives to protect us,
to guide us in truth,
to help us to understand what is right and what is wrong,
what is profitable, what is not profitable.
And so brethren,
please remember that the Holy Spirit resides in you,
and, you know, communicating with the Spirit of God
is essential to your spiritual or Christian life.
Back to Nehemiah chapter three,
Nehemiah chapter three, verse 26.
Let's get to gate number seven now,
Nehemiah chapter three, verse 26.
The Bible reads,
Moreover, the Nephinim dwelt in Ophir
unto the place over against the water gate,
toward the east and the tower that lieth out.
What do you reckon, Sebastian?
What's the gate that's mentioned here in verse number 26?
The water gate, good boy.
Gate number seven is the water gate,
and this is why the reading was from Nehemiah chapter eight.
Okay?
So if you can keep your finger then,
please go to Nehemiah chapter eight.
And when it, how, verse number 26 started by saying,
Moreover, the Nephinim, this is not the Nephilims, okay?
The Nephinims, they're quite an interesting group,
but when you look at them in the Bible,
it appears that they were temple servants.
They weren't necessarily Levites, so they could have been,
but it seems like these were other Jews
that were assisting in the temple, okay?
Temple servants, and they're given the name Nephinims.
Now, why is that important?
Because the water gate ties in with the temple,
the Old Testament temple.
And so the water gate allowed access to water
that was specifically used in the temple, okay?
That's how I understand it.
Water that was specifically used in the temple
was accessed through the water gate.
And so you had these Nephinims
that potentially were carrying this water back and forth.
That's as best as I can understand it.
Now, you're going to Nehemiah chapter eight,
because what does this water represent?
We've seen how the gate of the fountain
represent the Holy Spirit.
And I was kind of blurring the lines
between these two gates.
And actually, from what I understand,
these two gates are actually pretty close
to one another on the wall.
But I'm going to read to you from Ephesians 5 26
that says, that he might sanctify and cleanse it,
cleanse what?
With the washing of water by the word.
So here's the thing, brethren,
we need to be cleansed,
we need to be washed by the water of God's word.
But what is it specifically that's being cleansed
in Ephesians 5 26?
Well, in verse number 27, it says,
that he might present it to himself a glorious church,
not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
but that it should be holy and without blemish.
What does God want to be holy and without blemish?
What does God want washed by the water of the word?
It's the New Testament church.
And the New Testament church is the house of God.
And so you had these nephronyms who were temple servants
in the Old Testament temple,
of course, is the house of the Lord.
And so we can see how these two things come together,
the Old Testament temple, the New Testament church,
and it is by the Watergate, it is by the word of God
that the church can be washed and can be cleansed.
Brethren, church is such an important part of your life.
You can't avoid, you can't think that I can just grow
and mature and get to the level that God wants me to be
in my spiritual life without church attendance.
And you know, I say this and I don't wanna make it sound
like I'm so important, Pastor Kevin is so important.
You've gotta be in church because Pastor Kevin's spent hours
preparing a sermon and you better be here and listen to it.
It's not about me, brethren, it's about all of us.
It's about every believer that makes up this church.
If you wanna grow in the Lord, you've gotta be in church.
This is where the preaching of God's word will happen.
This is how the Holy Ghost will work in our lives.
Jesus Christ in the midst of us,
and this is where God will bless us, in the house of the Lord.
If you avoid church, you're not gonna be cleansed.
You're not gonna be washed.
Listening to sermons online is a help if you can't make it,
but it is no substitute.
It is no substitute to church
because church is much more than listening to preaching.
Church is also fellowship.
Church is also to edify and to be edified,
to bless and to be blessed,
to serve the Lord God by serving the local body.
Hey, church is about sending you out,
door to door soul winning.
A lot of people would not be actively soul winning
if they weren't part of a soul winning church.
Church is such a vital part
and it's about encouraging one another.
My hope is to encourage you
and I also get encouraged by you, okay?
We can encourage one another and through the word of God,
we can cleanse one another.
Now you're in Nehemiah chapter eight, look at verse number one
and the reason we have this wooden pulpit
and a lot of churches have a wooden pulpit
comes from this chapter, okay?
So Nehemiah chapter eight, verse number one,
it says, and all the people gathered themselves together
as one man into the street that was before the Watergate.
So there's the Watergate mentioned
and all the people are gathering themselves together.
Let's keep going.
And they spake unto Ezra the scribe
to bring the book of the law of Moses,
which the Lord had commanded to Israel.
So what's this book, the law of Moses?
Hey, it's the washing that we require
from the word of God, right?
Verse number two, and Ezra the priest brought the law
before the congregation, both of men and women
and all that could hear with understanding
upon the first day of the seventh month.
And he read therein before the street
that was before the Watergate from the morning until midday,
before the men and the women and those that could understand
and the ears of all the people were attentive
unto the book of the law.
And so notice that, you know,
if we take this example here for church,
notice that they spend all day reading God's word
and this is why it's so important that, you know,
and why in our church, we have the practice
before I get up to preach,
that a whole chapter of the Bible will be read, okay?
This is why we have that practice
because we see this practice play out here.
And notice at the end of verse number three,
what did it say?
It says, and the ears of all the people
were attentive unto the book of the law.
And listen, when you come to church,
it's about being attentive, it's about waking up,
paying attention to what the Bible says.
It's not about thinking about, you know, other things.
It's not being fidgety in your chair.
It's not time to talk to one another
or to look at your phone.
It's time to be attentive to God's word.
And children really need to learn this.
When you come to the house of God, it's time to be attentive.
It's time to give your full attention
to the preaching of God's word.
Look at verse number four.
And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood.
So there's the pulpit of wood,
that's why we have the practice.
It says, which they had made for the purpose.
And beside him stood Matahiah and Shema and Ananias
and Urijah and Hilkiah and Maasiah,
on his right hand and on his left,
Pediah and Mishael and Melchiah and Hashim
and Hashpedanah, Zechariah and Meshulam.
Now look at verse number five.
And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people,
for he was above all the people.
And when he opened it, all the people stood up.
You know, a lot of churches have the tradition
when the word of God is being read, that they stand.
All right.
Verse number six.
And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God,
and all the people answered, amen, amen.
So if you ever wonder why people say amen
when I'm preaching, this is why.
Because we get the example from the book of Nehemiah.
And then it says, we've lifted up their hands,
and they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord
with their faces to the ground.
Okay, so I read quite a large passage there.
But just to show you what the Watergate represents.
They came to hear the preaching of God's word
at the Watergate.
And you know what, it is the word of God
which acts as water that cleanses us,
that removes our blemishes and our spots and our wrinkles,
because we wanna be presented as a clean church, okay?
Church is the place that you come in order for you to grow,
to get the sins out of your life,
to gain knowledge, to be washed with the water
of God's word.
Back to Nehemiah chapter three now.
Nehemiah chapter three, and look at verse number 28,
we're up to the eighth gate.
Nehemiah chapter three and verse 28.
Now it says here, from above the horse gate
repaired the priests, everyone over against his house.
So maybe I'll ask Jonathan, which is gate number eight?
Huh?
The horse?
The horse gate, all done, the horse gate.
So this gate is near the horse stables.
This is why it's called the horse gate.
And it is the horses that were in these stables
that were used to ride out to war, okay?
So the horse gate or the horses near these stables
represent warfare, okay?
Because obviously in these days,
people would get on their horses and ride out to war.
And so another reality of the Christian life,
in order for you to be well-rounded,
in order for you to be a complete Christian,
you must understand that we are in a spiritual fight.
There is a spiritual war going on every day of our lives.
And there are wars on three fronts.
We have the war against the devil,
a war against the forces of wickedness,
but we also have a war against this world.
This world is very ungodly.
This world desires for you to leave the commandments of God
and comply with how they believe we ought to live
as humanity.
And then we have the war within ourselves,
the war between the flesh and the spirit,
between the old man and the new man,
we're constantly at war.
And you have to just accept this is the case.
And so it's important that if you're going to war,
that you take one of these horses,
you get out there through the horse gate
and you start to battle, okay?
The spiritual life is a life of battling, of fighting.
You need to be able to stand up
against the wiles of the devil.
And if you can please turn to 2 Timothy,
go to 2 Timothy chapter two in your Bibles,
2 Timothy chapter two.
And, you know, keep in mind
that we don't wrestle against flesh and blood.
We're not here to attack or kill, you know, any man, okay?
It's a spiritual warfare that we're fighting.
2 Timothy chapter two verse number three reads,
thou therefore endure hardness
as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
Are we going to go through hardness?
Are we going to go through difficulties
in our Christian life all the time?
How are we to endure it?
Whining, complaining, giving up.
Oh, woe is me.
I'm always fighting.
There's always issues.
No, it says here, endure hardness
as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
Hey, the soldier is prepared for the battle.
The soldier has trained for the battle, okay?
And the soldier knows how to battle.
And brethren, as a Christian, as a believer,
as someone that stands in the word of God,
you must understand that just standing,
just believing this Bible,
just telling people that I believe the words
that I read here is going to take you to stand strong
and be a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
In fact, this entire Bible is a sword,
the sword of the spirit.
Hey, you take this word, man, you preach this book.
You tell people you believe it.
You live in accordance with this book.
You'll find yourself fighting.
You'll find yourself not even seeking the fights,
but just believe in this book,
just reading this book,
people are going to try to go to war with you.
People are going to try to mock your stance,
mock your beliefs, mock your life.
You know, I remember there was a time in my life
where I used to take my Bible to work.
And during the lunch break,
I'd read my Bible during lunch.
And it seemed like, you know what,
if I was just reading some other novel,
I'd be left alone.
Guaranteed, I'd be left alone
if I was just reading some novel.
But when people saw you reading the Bible,
they wanted to engage.
They wanted to mock.
They wanted to say, why are you reading that book?
They, you know, obviously find it something unusual.
It's strange because any other book, you know,
that would be fine if you're doing that.
But when you pick up the Bible,
it's like you are picking up the sword of the spirit.
You are getting yourself ready to go to war.
And so we are to endure hardness
as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
Look at verse number four.
No man that warreth,
so a man that goes to war,
no man that goes to war,
warreth and tangleth himself
with the affairs of this life,
that he may please him
who have chosen him to be a soldier.
As a soldier of Jesus Christ,
our call is to please our Lord God, all right?
And if we're going to go to war,
if we're going to fight,
if we're going to win the battles,
then we cannot entangle ourselves
with the affairs of this life.
I'm not living for this world.
I'm not living to be rich and powerful
and known throughout this world.
That's not my desire.
It shouldn't be the desire of a Christian.
Our desire ought to be to go to war.
And if you're going to war, brethren,
you cannot entangle yourself,
get caught up, be ensnared
by the lusts that come from this world,
by the temptations that come from Satan.
You need to be able to overcome these things
to be a soldier that pleases the Lord God.
Look at verse number five.
And if a man also strive for masteries,
yet he is not crowned,
except he strive lawfully.
This is so important
because we are in that spiritual warfare.
We need to make sure that when we strive,
when we want to be successful, we do it lawfully.
We do it in accordance to God's ways.
It's not about trying to find some shortcut.
If you desire to be a pastor,
you ought to be faithful to a church,
ordained by a pastor,
presented before a congregation,
and sent out to do the work of God.
It's not about cutting corners.
You've got to do things
how God tells us to do things
in accordance to his word,
we are to strive lawfully.
We are to do things in accordance to God's ways.
Okay?
No shortcuts in the Christian life.
Because if you take shortcuts,
you don't do things lawfully,
you're not going to be crowned.
You're not going to be acknowledged.
You're not going to be able to achieve the masteries
that you're seeking for in your life.
So the horse gate represents the spiritual battle
that we have.
Now let's get to gate number nine.
Nehemiah chapter three, verse 29.
Nehemiah chapter three, verse 29, please.
Nehemiah chapter three, verse 29 reads,
after them repaired Zadok, the son of Imna,
over against his house.
After him repaired also Shemaiah,
the son of Shekiniah, the keeper of the east gate.
So which gate do we have now?
Number nine, the east gate.
What could the east gate represent?
Well, obviously it's called the east gate
because this gate is located
on the eastern side of Jerusalem.
That's why it's called the east gate,
pretty straightforward.
And this east gate,
if you were traveling from the Mount of Olives
into the city of Jerusalem,
you're most likely going to enter through the east gates,
from the Mount of Olives.
Now the east gate is mentioned the most
in the book of Ezekiel.
Now I'll get you to turn to Matthew 24 instead of Ezekiel.
Just turn to Matthew 24
and I'm going to read to you from Ezekiel first.
So what could the east gate represent?
Well, if you were here when I was going through the series,
I was going through, what book were we going through?
I think we're going through the book of Luke.
And oh yeah, and the Sydney church
we're going through the book of Matthew.
But we learned that when Christ in his final week,
you know, that's the final week
that led up to his crucifixion,
that during the day he would be teaching in Jerusalem,
specifically the temple.
And then once he was finished at night,
he would go to the Mount of Olives, okay?
So it's most likely,
I believe this is confirmed for us in Ezekiel 44,
that Jesus Christ was going in and out of Jerusalem
for that final week through the east gate, okay?
For the east gate.
Now Ezekiel 44 verse one, I'll read it to you.
You're going to Matthew 24.
I'm going to read to you from Ezekiel 44 verse one.
The Bible reads,
then he brought me back the way of the east.
Sorry, let me just start all over again.
Verse number one.
Then he brought me back the way of the gate
of the outward sanctuary,
which looketh toward the east and it was shut.
Okay, so this gate was shut.
Verse number two.
Then said the Lord unto me,
this gate shall be shut,
it shall not be opened,
and no man shall enter in by it,
because the Lord, the God of Israel,
hath entered in by it.
Therefore it shall be shut.
So what's the Bible saying here?
That the Lord God has entered Jerusalem
through this east gate.
This is why I believe this is referring to Jesus Christ
that final week when he's going back and forth
from the Mount of Olives into the city.
Verse number three.
It says, it is for the prince.
The prince, he shall sit in it
to eat bread before the Lord.
He shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate
and shall go out by the way of the same.
So notice that it says that this gate has been shut.
And again, it's not like you can,
I'm talking about literal and figurative language before
in my previous sermon,
but I don't think if you went to this gate in Jerusalem
that it's locked and you can't open it, okay?
What this is saying is that it has been shut, okay?
So obviously when Christ came
and that final week that led up to his crucifixion,
Jesus Christ says the word, it is finished.
That work, that final week,
the Passion Week sometimes it's referred to, it's done.
It's finished.
We're not gonna have this situation
where Christ is gonna have to go back to Jerusalem,
back and forth from the Mount of Olives
in order to be sacrificed again.
His mission, his work was complete.
And so that's what I believe when he refers to
that this east gate is now shut,
it is locked, it cannot be opened,
it's because it's finished.
There's nothing you can add to your salvation.
There's no more requirement for your sins to be forgiven
except by the work that Jesus Christ accomplished
when he was on this earth for the first time.
And so that's what I believe the east gate represents,
the fact that Christ would come into Jerusalem,
offer himself a sacrifice and the work was finished.
It is finished, said Jesus Christ.
But you're also in Matthew 24, verse 27.
Matthew 24, verse 27,
because that's about the first coming of Christ
and the great work and mission that he set out to do.
But also when it comes to his second coming,
I believe this east gate represents
his second coming as well,
because it says in verse number 27,
for as lightning cometh out of the east
and shineth even unto the west,
so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.
And so I personally believe that when Christ comes,
that he's going to circle the globe
from the east to the west.
And this is why every eye shall see him, okay?
And so what we see,
just this reference of Christ coming out of the east.
And that's what I believe also the east gate represents,
not just the work of his first coming,
but also the promise of Christ's second coming.
Now we're going to look at the 10th and final gates,
back to Nehemiah chapter three and verse number 31.
Nehemiah chapter three and verse number 31.
The Bible reads,
after him repaired Malchiah, the goldsmith's son,
unto the place of the Nethenim,
so that was the temple servants, remember,
and of the merchants,
over against the gate, Mythcad,
and to the going up of the corner.
So the 10th gate is the gate Mythcad.
Now that is not an English word.
Mythcad is a Hebrew word,
and this word is associated with appointing something
and making an appointment,
commanding or even judgment, passing judgment, okay?
Mythcad, it's not an English word, a Hebrew word.
And what I want to take out of this
is the idea of making a command or making a judgment,
and so you could call this the judgment gate, okay?
Gate Mythcad, the judgment gate.
Now please go to 1 Corinthians chapter three.
Please go to 1 Corinthians chapter three
and verse number 11.
1 Corinthians chapter three verse number 11.
And just because we're saved,
it doesn't mean that we're not gonna face judgment.
You know, Jesus Christ will judge us
on the life that we've lived,
and he's not gonna judge us for our sins.
That's been taken care of.
That's been nailed to the cross,
but he's going to judge us
on the work that God has asked us to do.
He's going to judge us on our righteous living.
He's going to judge us on our soul-winning efforts.
He's going to judge us on our Bible reading, okay?
All these things, our godly, our Christian influence
with other people, on our church attendance,
all these things, you must understand
that our life will be judged by Jesus Christ.
And boy, how much I would love for Jesus to say,
thou good and faithful servant.
And you know, my hope is that everybody
of New Life Baptist Church will hear those words
on the day of judgment, thou good and faithful servant.
So look at 1 Corinthians 3, verse 11.
The Bible says, for other foundation can no man lay,
then that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Now, if any man build upon this foundation,
now let me just stop there.
Is this person saved?
If he's got the foundation of Christ in his life,
is he saved?
Yes, okay, and now that we're saved,
now that we have that strong foundation,
we ought to build on that foundation.
Verse number 12, now if any man build upon this foundation,
gold, silver, precious stones,
hey, those are valuable items.
And then it says, wood, hay, stubble.
So there are six things here, right?
The first three are very precious and expensive items.
Gold, silver, precious stones.
But the next three are very cheap.
Wood, hay, stubble.
And listen, your Christian life as you live on this earth,
you can build on the foundation of Jesus Christ,
either things that are valuable,
things that last for eternity,
things for God like gold, silver, precious stones,
or you're going to build a very worldly, very carnal life
and that is represented by the wood, hay, and stubble.
Look at verse number 13.
Every man's work shall be made manifest,
for the day shall declare it
because it shall be revealed by fire
and the fire shall try every man's work
of what sort it is.
So notice, this fire's going to pass through
and listen, when gold and silver and precious stones
pass through the fire, they become even more pure
because the fires get rid of the impurities.
It gets rid of the imperfections, okay?
So once this fire of God's trial passes through,
if your works have been for the Lord,
it's going to remain standing.
Hey, but there's other work that we do
and these other works are not necessarily sinful works.
Sorry if I gave that impression.
That's not what I'm trying to say.
But these works have no eternal value.
We're always doing things in our lives
and some things, yeah, they're just not profitable.
They're not sinful, but they're not profitable.
They have no eternal value.
You know, it's not for the Lord.
It's just something that we need to do through our lives.
Well, if you build your life on these things,
well, like wood, hay, and stubble,
when that goes through the fire,
it's going to be destroyed and burnt up.
And now look at verse number 14.
If any man's work abide, which he have built thereupon,
he shall receive a reward.
So God's judgment, the reason he wants to judge us
is not to make us feel horrible and feel bad
that we've not served him enough for our lives.
The reason he judges our lives and our works
is so he can reward us.
He wants to give us great treasures in heaven.
Look at verse number 15.
If any man's work shall be burned.
So this guy loses everything.
Now think about this idea.
We already said that this man is saved, right?
Because he's already got the foundation of Jesus Christ.
But all his works burned.
Hey, his life, the works of his life were wood, hay, and stubble.
Okay, can we judge someone by their works?
Well, what if their works all get burnt up?
What's more important than someone's work?
And that is important, don't get me wrong.
Your work is important.
But more important than your work is your foundation.
You cannot have works that last for eternity
unless you have the foundation first, okay?
But notice this man's work is burnt.
He shall suffer loss.
So he's not gonna be rewarded, right?
But he himself shall be saved.
Yet so as by fire.
So the fire reveals
that even though all the works is burnt up,
the fire reveals that this man is still saved,
has always been saved
because his foundation was on Jesus Christ.
What is salvation?
For by grace are you saved through faith
and that not of yourselves.
It is the gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast.
Listen, you cannot judge someone's salvation by their works.
You can only judge someone's salvation
by the profession of their faith
is their faith on the finished work of Jesus Christ alone
and nothing else, plus nothing, minus nothing,
then you know that man is saved
because his foundation is Jesus Christ.
But when we have that foundation,
we ought to work, build on that foundation,
gold, silver, precious stones,
the things that last for eternity.
And listen, nothing's gonna be more valuable in eternity
than people's souls.
You can take your soul.
My desire is that the souls of my whole family
can go to heaven.
My desire is that the souls,
many souls of our community will also go to heaven.
So soul winning is such an important task for us.
These are great works that we can put in place
and we can be rewarded for these works.
So the Lord Jesus Christ will judge us,
judge us on the works that we have done for him.
So in conclusion, brethren,
we've looked at the first five gates,
as I said on Wednesday,
but in conclusion, the final five gates,
gate number six was the gate of the fountain,
which represented the Holy Spirit.
Number seven, the water gate,
and that represented going to your local church
and being washed by the water of God's word.
Number eight, the horse gate,
the fact that our spiritual life is a life of warfare,
spiritual warfare.
Number nine, the east gate,
representing the first coming of Christ and his sacrifice,
and also the second coming of Jesus Christ.
And number 10, the gate mithcad, or the judgment gate,
the fact that our lives will be judged.
And so we want to make sure that, like I said,
we have those words to our good and faithful servant.
Let's pray.