Sharing The Workload Pt 2

Guest (Male): Every one of us as God's children, we need to go through the Valley Gate. Why? Because this is the place where God humbles us from our pride. Through those trials and temptations that come, God humbles us and reminds us that He's in charge, you're not in charge. Your life is like a vapor of smoke; one day you're here, one day you'll be gone. Welcome to Somebody Loves You Radio, the Bible teaching ministry of Raul Ries in Diamond Bar, California. We're glad to have you with us today for our continuing series in the book of Nehemiah. Today, Raul will pick up on yesterday's message to outline the beautiful symbolism that every gate represents that was built into the walls of Jerusalem, underscoring how Nehemiah's ancient restoration effort reflects God's present-day work of revival in our hearts. Here is Raul Ries with the message "Sharing the Workload." Join us in Nehemiah chapter three.
Raul Ries: Something interesting to look at these gates that are here in the map. To remind you, if you notice something really special, in order to be from the Sheep's Gate to go around each one of the gates and to end up once again at the Sheep Gate, you have to go counter-clockwise like the Hebrew writing. You write from right to left. They're not covering the gates the way we see our clocks. It's the opposite way. What's interesting in the covering of the gates here is the actual vision that Nehemiah had in the book of Nehemiah. Look at chapter two for one second so we can remind ourselves and refresh our mind tonight. We'll see about verse 11 where he says, "And so I came to Jerusalem and I was there for three days. And then I arose in the night and a few men with me, and I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem, nor was there any animal with me except the one on which I rode." Remember he was given permission by King Artaxerxes to go back and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem because the people in Jerusalem, the Jews, were being oppressed by the Ammonites, by Tobiah, Sanballat, and some of the Arabians. So when Nehemiah came as a leader on this journey, he didn't want to tell anybody what he was going to do. The first thing that he wanted to do is to go out himself and spy out the area as God had given him the vision in how he was going to administrate and how he was going to set up the whole work of God so that they could not only do the work of God, but defend themselves against the oppressors. That's a good sign of a good leader: care for his people, care for the job that has been given to him by the Lord. What's interesting here again, notice in verse 14, "Then I went out to the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but there was no room for the animal under to pass by. And so I went up by night to the valley and I viewed the wall, then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate and so returned. And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done. I had not yet told the Jews or the priest or the nobles or the officials or no other ones who did the work." This has to point to something here in our lives. A lot of times if God has really called you to do something, you don't go blabbing it to everybody, but first of all, you need to approve it with God. Very important. Nehemiah was a wise master builder. He was a wise foreman. He was a master servant of the Lord. Then he said in verse 18, "And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also the king's words that he has spoken to me. And so they said, 'Let us rise up and build.'" Once he went out by himself, he looked at the problem, he came back, he reported what happened, God confirmed it with the people and they said, "Hey Nehemiah, we're with you. Let's do it." They were ready. They were prepared as they saw their leader that really had a love for them, had a love for the work that he was going to do in the city of Jerusalem. They said again, "Let us rise up and build." And they set their hands to the good work. But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they started laughing at us and despised us and said, "What is this thing that you're doing? Will you rebel against the king?" Notice what the enemy does when you get your life together and you have a willing mind to work for the Lord. You're going to get ridiculed. You're going to get made fun of. It could be your loved ones, it could be your friends, it could be your enemies. And yet Nehemiah, never defending himself in any way, listen to his answer in verse 20. "And so I answered them and I said to them, 'The God of heaven himself will prosper us. Therefore we, his servants, will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem. Get lost.'" Literally. I love that. They did not allow their enemy, those that ridicule, to have any part in the work of God. We need to be careful. Need to be careful to have mockers, people whose heart are not really with us. Nehemiah wanted to remind them because now in chapter three, he comes now to the building. There's 38 individuals, workers, named in the chapter. 42 different groups are identified in chapter three, too. And yet notice he begins with the Sheep Gate in verse one. "And then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priest and built the Sheep Gate and they consecrated it and hung its doors and they built as far as to the Tower of a Hundred and consecrated it and then as far as the Tower of Hananeel." Why would you start with the gate called the Sheep's Gate? Number one, the Sheep Gate speaks not only of the cross of Jesus Christ, but it speaks of what Jesus said in John's gospel chapter 1:29. John the Baptist said, "Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world." Before God can ever begin a work in my life or in the life of anyone, it begins on the cross of Jesus Christ on Calvary. You have to come to the cross. This is the place in the Old Testament where they would bring the sheep that were to be slaughtered for the offerings for the temple. So here he is at the Sheep's Gate, bringing forth in all sincerity and in all truth, reminding them, "Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world." The second thing that you do, you come now to the Fish Gate in verse three. What is the Fish Gate? The Fish Gate, remember Jesus said, "I'm going to make you fishermen of men." This is where now you and I as Christians have the opportunity and the privilege of being able to win people to the Lord through the power of the Holy Spirit as we get rooted and grounded in God's word and we share our faith with others at the Fish Gate. Salvation and the cross is number one. Number two is being a witness and winning people to the Lord, becoming a soul winner. Jesus said that. When he called these guys to follow him, he says, "Follow me and I'll make you fishermen of men." I think that it's really of importance that once we come to the Sheep Gate and we understand the price of redemption, what Christ has done for us, such a great price he paid for you and for me on the cross of Jesus Christ, that we should have a burden and we should have the zeal and the passion to go from the Sheep Gate all the way through the Fish Gate in order to win our loved ones and our friends and our enemies to the Lord. That's why it's so important to come through the Sheep Gate to the Fish Gate, to walk through. Look what he says, verse three, "Also the sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate and they laid its beams and hung its doors and its bolts and its bars." In Matthew 4:19, that's where Jesus said, "Follow me and I will make you fishermen of men." Very important. Then verse four, "And the next to them Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz, made repairs. And next to them was Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel, made repairs. Next to them was Zadok the son of Baana made repairs. And next to them was the Tekoites and they made repairs, but their nobles did not put their shoulder to the work of the Lord." So here we have these Tekoites and they are not in the work of the Lord. Notice there are some people that don't even care about the work of the Lord. Even though they see the need, hey, forget it, I don't want to help, I don't want to be part of the work. There are people like that, these were the Tekoites. The Old Gate now, verse six. "Moreover, Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate and they laid its beams and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars." Very interesting door because we start at the cross of Jesus Christ, atonement, redemption for our sins, and then we go to the Fish Gate and we start sharing the Lord with people. But at the same time, listen to what we need to do. We need to study the scriptures. This is the place where we start getting rooted and grounded in God's word at the Old Gate. Now in verse 13, we come to the Valley Gate. "And Hanun, the inhabitants of Zanoah, repaired the Valley Gate and they built it and hung its door with its bolts and bars and repaired a thousand cubits of the wall as far as the Refuse Gate." So now we come from the actual Sheep Gate to the Fish Gate, witnessing, Old Gate, studying truths about God, and now the Valley Gate is what? Where as a child of God, I have testings in my life, trials. They come. My faith will be tested. This is the time where you need to read the book of James because the book of James will tell you that as a child of God, nothing is going to come if you really give your life to the Lord and you really are trusting in the Lord and you really want to do something for God, you're going to be tested. Your life is going to be tested physically, spiritually, emotionally, financially, in every way. And yet God always makes the way of escape for us because he loves us.
Guest (Male): Every one of us as God's children, we need to go through the Valley Gate. Why? Because this is the place where God humbles us from our pride. Through those trials and temptations that come, God humbles us and reminds us that He's in charge, you're not in charge. Your life is like a vapor of smoke; one day you're here, one day you'll be gone.
Raul Ries: The Bible says that whoever the Lord loves he chastens, he disciplines his children. Many times in trials and temptations, God will do what? He will humble us because we've gotten proud. We're no longer listening to the Lord. We think we know it all now. Or we might be moving away from the truth of God, maybe we're backsliding and we're moving away from the truths of God. We're moving away from the cross, we're moving away from sharing with people, we're moving away from studying of the word of God. Now God uses these testings. Somebody's been backsliding and they find out they have cancer. What does that do? Not only does it draw them back to the Lord, it gets them close to the heart of God and it becomes a testimony to more people. God has his way of humbling you and humbling me. That happens at the Valley Gate. Then we move over to the Dung Gate. And the Dung Gate is what? This is the trash gate where all the trash is. And so here we have from the cross of Jesus Christ to actually witnessing for the Lord and then coming and studying God's truths and then being tested in my life. When I come to the Dung Gate, you know what I do? This is the place where I get rid of all the filth in my life. This is where confession comes in and repentance. This is where I've got to leave everything here, reckoning the old man to be dead. This is where it says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us for all our sins," first John 1:9. And the blood of Jesus Christ continually is cleansing and washing my life. This happens at the Dung Gate as we see here. This Dung Gate here was located southernmost tip of the city near the pool of Siloam. It was the main gate that exit into the Valley of Hinnom where the garbage was actually dispersed. This was the city dump where they would burn called Gehenna, the lake of fire. The Dung Gate led to Gehenna in the Hinnom Valley. This was the place where we as God's children need to come and leave off all the filth in our lives at the Dung Gate so that God can use our lives completely and fully. Then you move from the Dung Gate over to the Fountain Gate. And guess what? When I get rid of all the filth in my life and I humble myself before the Lord, guess what he's able to do? He's able to fill me with his Holy Spirit. When Jesus came to Samaria and the woman was there by the well and he said, "Give me a drink of water," and she said, "It's too deep, I don't have nothing to get water with," and then he started sharing with her, "The water that I'll give to you, it will become not only from the inside, it'll come out and it will be overflowing you." And that he spoke of the Holy Spirit. Here it is at the Fountain Gate where the Holy Spirit of God wants to come over your life once you got rid of the filth. God wants to bless you and anoint you. And then the Water Gate, verse 26. Also the Dung Gate was in verse 13, Fountain Gate in verse 15, and now the Water Gate is 3:26. And that's not the Watergate that Nixon had, okay? This is a different one. But the Water Gate is a very interesting gate. Once you start at the Sheep Gate, the cross of Jesus Christ, and then you start becoming a fisherman of men and you come to the Old Gate, you study the God's truth, and then you're tested, and then you confess your sins, and then you come to the Fountain Gate and your spirit filled in your life, then at the Water Gate is what? It's where you become thirsty once again for the scriptures. Lord, give me more. I want more of your word. Then you come to the Horse Gate. Interesting gate. This is where the armies, the generals, would come through the Horse Gate in their horses. Guess what? The Sheep Gate is where Jesus Christ died on the cross, you witnessed for the Lord, you study for the Lord, you are tested by the Lord, you confess your sins to the Lord, you're spirit filled with the Lord, and then you're thirsting for the scriptures. And the Horse Gate now is the second coming of Jesus Christ, when he comes in his white horse and his whole church behind him coming for the day of judgment. The second coming of Christ, entering as conqueror, coming with all of his saints as Matthew tells us in chapter 24. Then the East Gate. Interesting. The East Gate is the gate where Jesus at the second coming, he's coming back, he destroys the armies of Armageddon, and then he comes to the Mount of Olives. And what does he do? He steps on the Mount of Olives according to Zechariah 14, and the Mount of Olives splits. And what does he do? He walks down the valley and he enters through the East Gate to set up his kingdom, to rule and to reign. The Eastern Gate. And then you have the Inspection Gate. This is now the gate of judgment. The gate of judgment. Remember how we're going to be judged at the Bema seat of Christ. Remember in Matthew 25, there's going to be a judgment. Let me read it to you very quickly in Matthew chapter 25. He says this, "The Son of Man comes in the glory of his holy angels with him, and then he will sit on the throne of his glory. And all the nations will be gathered to him and he will separate one from another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And he will set the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left hand. And then the king will say to those on his right hand, 'Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundations of the world.'" But on the other side, he says, "And then he will answer and say, 'Assuredly, I say unto you, in as much as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did it to me.' And all these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." This is the place where they're going to be judged. The goats will be separated from the sheep right there at the Inspection Gate. And then if you look at this, this is not only where the Great White Throne judgment now in Revelations 20:11-15, where the books are going to be opened and whoever's name is not found written in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire. This will be the second death. And then as we go around the gates and we come to the last gate, the Inspection Gate, where do we come to? The Sheep Gate once again, to the cross of Jesus Christ when he starts everything new.
Guest (Male): It's amazing to see that the names of Jerusalem's gates reflect the Lord's continuous redemptive work in our lives. You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. If you'd like to hear today's lesson again in its unedited form, we'll be happy to send a copy to you for a donation of five dollars or more. Just call 800-634-9165 and mention today's study "Sharing the Workload." And as you consider how God is carefully guiding you from the day of your salvation to your eternal heavenly home, we'd like to offer you more encouragement from the book of Nehemiah. Raul's ten-part series titled "From Opposition to Victory" is available on CD and thumb drive. Challenging you to boldly follow the Lord wherever he leads, this resource also explores the power of prayer and the strength that comes from working in harmony with your fellow believers. Visit somebodylovesyou.com or call 800-634-9165 to order "From Opposition to Victory." We'll send you the CD for 22 dollars or on flash drive for just 13. That's 800-634-9165. Or write to Somebody Loves You Radio, Post Office Box 4440, Diamond Bar, California 91765. Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries is listener-supported and we are blessed by the tax-deductible gifts that enable us to keep sharing the word of God. Tune in next time as we return to the book of Nehemiah for assurance that God will equip you with all that you need to obey his call on your life. He will heal, restore and embolden you, making sure that you can stand firm against all opposition. Now with the closing comment, here is Raul once again.
Raul Ries: And so tonight you've learned that you go from the cross of Jesus Christ to witnessing for the Lord, to studying God's truths, and then accepting the trials and temptations of my life, and then confessing my sins and getting rid of all the filth, and then becoming spirit-filled every day with God's spirit, and then thirsting and studying the scriptures. And then the second coming of Christ comes and we come back with him in the second coming of Christ, and then he sets up in the Mount of Olives his right foot, he walks to the Eastern Gate to set up his kingdom, and then the judgment comes in the Inspection Gate where he's going to later on create the new heavens and the new earth. And we will be with Jesus Christ forever and ever and ever when he takes hell, he takes death, he takes Satan, all of these demons, and every person that ever went to hell, they'll be thrown into the lake of fire and they will be there forever and ever and ever. But not so for the church of Jesus Christ, not so for the believer. We will be with him and we will rule with him forever and ever and ever.