The truth about Walls and Gates

The truth about Walls and Gates

This Sunday, we at CDC had the privilege of hearing our own brother Merrill give an interesting sermon on Nehemiah 2, which essentially was all about walls and gates. Some main points are as follows:-

Ø      In a sense, walls represent the law and its commandments, the requirements of a most Holy God. The walls of the law are insurmountable, no one can attain its righteous requirements, and on their own, no man can overcome it. However, Jesus is the gate. He is the way by which we can enter the kingdom of God. It is the gate of grace, where repentant sinners can find mercy and forgiveness. Those who live by the gate, the Lord Jesus, are no longer subject to the law, and they have complete freedom, for the truth has set them free!

Ø      In another sense, walls represent protection. The Great Wall of China was constructed over decades and decades, at great cost, untold number of human lives. The Great Wall formed most formidable of barriers, and protected the Chinese people within. However, today, the Great Wall no longer represents a viable defense, for the ultimate battles are fought from the skies, where no wall can reach. Yet, for us who believe in the Lord, He is our mighty fortress and tower, as we walk in the shadow of His protection, nothing can harm us, not even death.

Ø      In ancient times, the Greek City of Sparta had no walls, for to them, their people were their walls. Each man, woman and child were trained from a young age in combat, and all were ready for service in battle. In the church today, each one of us who prays represents a mighty living wall. The covering of prayer is the best protection for the church, and each one of us need to constantly uphold our families and churches in prayer to God.

Ø      Walls also play the role of demarcating boundaries, separating the inside from the outside, one land from another. From Revelation 22, we see that 14"Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. Even in the end, there will be a demarcation, a separation of good from evil. Even now, we must prepare ourselves by abstaining from evil deeds, and walking humbly in the truth, living according to the Word of the Lord and His Spirit.

Ø      Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!" Acts 23:3 In the days of Acts, Paul stood up and condemned the Pharisees, just as Jesus did. They were made akin to whitewashed walls, on the outside appearance, they appeared clean and beautiful, but in reality, they were terrible barriers preventing sinners from finding the salvation of God. In a sense they were like the Berlin wall, which viciously kept the East Germans from freedom. We need to watch ourselves that we do not become judgmental legalists like the Pharisees, but humble servants who have great mercy, not condemning, but encouraging, helping others to the a life of righteousness that is in Christ Jesus.

Ø      9I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.^[a] He will come in and go out, and find pasture. John 10:9 We who are so comfortable staying inside the walls of the church need to realize that we need to go out too. As the Lord said, His food is to do the will of God - our pasture, our food is to go out and do good, sharing Christ and bringing other sheep in.

Ø      The mighty walls of Troy were breached by deception, for the Greeks deceived them by the infamous use of the Trojan horse. On the outside, it seemed like an incredible gift, but on the inside were dangerous Greek soldiers waiting to spring open the city gates to the enemy by night. We need to be humble and pray for the wisdom of God, judging not by external appearance but learning to look at the heart of the matter, discerning not with human eyes but spiritual eyes lest our walls be breached by deception.

Ø      The mighty walls of Babylon were breached when the Persians ingeniously diverted the flow of the mighty river flowing through the heart of the city, and invaded through the river bank. If we neglect the reading of the Word and prayer, our river of life could well be diverted, and the enemy may well enter through a dry river bank.

Ø      The Great Wall of China was breached not by strength or power but by treachery, for a traitor let the enemy in. The Word says “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9 We need to keep watch that we do not become betrayed by our own hearts – we need to guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Ø      In the Iraq war, the Iraqi army had built super-strong concrete bunkers to keep out the missiles of the army. However, the Americans devised the ingenious “bunker buster” missile which penetrates 20 feet of concrete before exploding. The basic technology is based on the idea of entering via a small hole and then only exploding when reaching a more critical area. For us too, we must continuously watch every area of our lives, for a it only takes a small weakness for the enemy to penetrate in and create absolute disaster.