Gates, Gatekeepers, and Us

When we study God's Word, we often find references to gates. Lots of references to gates. G-A-T-E-S. Gates. Not Bill Gates, the billionaire. Different type of gate. Now, a gate is defined in several ways. It can be an opening, a wall, or a fence. It can be a city or castle entrance. Sometimes those gates will actually have towers, some kind of defensive structure around them as well. A gate can be the frame or door that encloses the gate itself, the swinging doors. Or a gate can simply mean an entrance or exit. I grew up on the farm. We had cattle gates. And until I learned to drive, I had to sit on the outside seat, and I got to be the one to get out all the time to open them and close them. We called it the idiot seat because you had to be the one to get out. That was my familiarity with gates. I don't think there are any cattle gates in the Bible, but gates are mentioned everywhere in different places. For example, there are gates in the city walls, gates in the palaces and prisons, gates in the courtyard, and there are all sorts of gates related to the temple. And as a figure of speech, we even find mentioned the gates of Sheol, or of the grave. But of all the different types of gates, the gates of the city were critical to the well-being of the city's inhabitants. Now, any of the types of gates you read about in the Bible can prove interesting for study and for edification, I'm quite sure. But in my sermon today, I'd like for us to limit our focus to city gates, the gates of the city.

And the title of my sermon is, Gates, Gatekeepers, and Us. Gates, Gatekeepers, and Us. So we will be considering the city gate in rather broad general terms in order to draw out several lessons that we can then apply for our own spiritual benefit. And so we will be taking time to consider that rather humble, sometimes almost something you wouldn't really pay attention to, that city gate. We're going to look at its purpose, how it was used. And also, we're going to look at those who minded the gate, the gatekeepers.

When we consider life in ancient times, if you've read much of the Bible, the history portion of the Bible, 1 Kings, 2 Samuel, Chronicles, it doesn't take much for us to realize that people back then seemed to live in constant fear of warfare and of invasion and of unrest and violence of all types. And so they gathered together for safety and security behind strong walls and gates of fortified cities. And some of these cities actually became strongholds. The gates, also fortified, allowed the inhabitants to control the movement of people and animals and goods in and out of the cities. The gates are very important. City gates were vital to ancient societies. And as I start, I'd like to read to you a brief description of these gates in these ancient times from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Now, the usual gateway, the encyclopedia states, the usual gateway was provided with double doors, swung on projections that fitted into sockets in the sill and lintel. The sill is the bottom, the lintel is the top of the door. Ordinarily, the material of the gate was made of wood, but greater strength of protection against fire was given by plating it with metal, such as brass or even iron. They'd cover those wooden planks of the gate with metal. When closed, the doors were secured with a bar, usually of wood, but sometimes it was covered in metal as well. And that fitted into the clamps on the doors and sockets on the post. And that united the whole door and gate post of the door together firmly. And if you remember Judges 16.3, that whole gate and the door frame around it, that's what Sampson carried on his back. And he carried it several miles, apparently, left on the top of the hill. And what an amazing feat that was.

Now, the gate was especially subject to attack, as you might imagine, because it was the weakest part of the wall. And so, to possess the gate, to phrase it was often used, to possess the gate was to possess the city. If you owned the gates, you owned the city. The gate was also protected by towers of some sorts, and the encyclopedia mentions that sometimes there's even a second inner gate was added. And so this description tells us that city gates were very important to the inhabitants' safety and security. But as I mentioned, they were the walls, the city walls' greatest weakness. And that's why gatekeepers were also essential. Somebody had to be there to keep watch, to mind the gates. Somebody also had to make sure that the gates were properly maintained. A weakened gate meant an even weaker defense of the city. Those gates would have been useless without good gatekeepers who were diligent and vigilant. Sometimes in your Bibles, King James Version sometimes referred to gatekeepers as porters or even as doorkeepers. You may see that in your particular Bible translation. Gatekeepers especially proved their importance during times of war. For example, let's be turning to 2 Samuel 18. 2 Samuel 18. In here, as an example, about gates and gatekeepers, how they worked in tandem, how they worked together.

In 2 Samuel 18, we will find the account of Absalom's rebellion against his father, King David. At this particular point in the narrative, King David has fled Jerusalem and set it for the fortified city across the Jordan River, east of the Jordan River, at the city of Maha-na'im. This city had a set of double gates, one on the outer wall, and a second gate placed yards deeper into the city. Both were over-watched by several towers. We'll begin reading in verse 24. What we find is that David is sitting here, waiting the latest news of the battle between his forces and those of Absalom. In 2 Samuel 18, verse 24, we read, Then the watchman cried out and told the king, and the king said, If he is alone, there is news in his mouth. And he came rapidly and drew near. Then the watchman saw another man running, and the watchman called to the gatekeeper and said, There is another man running alone. And the king said, He also brings news. Now, just a little brief vignette here, a little episode. I'm just wanting to show us the close interaction between the watchers, the eyes of the city, you might say, and the keepers who worked the gate and who would allow or forbid entrance into the city. This episode should also remind us here that gatekeepers did not act on their own whim or discretion.

They worked in conjunction with others responsible for keeping the gates and defending the city. Sometimes these others they were responsible to as a superior officer, sometimes the governor or even the king himself. Gatekeepers were responsible for obeying higher authority. Now, if we would turn back to Nehemiah 7, I want to look at another example of this interaction with gates of the city. Turn back to Nehemiah 7. It's after Ezra. It's after 2 Chronicles.

In Nehemiah 7, I'd like for us to read from Nehemiah's account of rebuilding the walls and rehanging the gates of Jerusalem. King Artaxerxes had appointed Nehemiah governor or the land of Judah. We find that mentioned in Nehemiah 5.14. In Nehemiah, we see Jesus' authority to rebuild Jerusalem's walls. Here, we will also see evidence of His authority as governor or the gates and gatekeepers, His role of authority. So let's read Nehemiah 7, and we're going to begin with verse 1. Nehemiah 7, verse 1.

From this little bit, we see that Nehemiah wisely took the precaution of ordering the gates open when it was fully day. That way, it better ensured the safety of Jerusalem's inhabitants during the night.

As well, the Jews were relatively few in number, remember? But Nehemiah had foresight and wisdom, as we can see, and he used His authority to protect His people from their surrounding enemies.

Now, so far, we've seen the city gate mainly used as a means of defense. But the city gate was much more than an entrance and exit in and out of the city that had to be guarded. The city gate was vital to the life of the city and its inhabitants in other ways as well. So let me go back and read a little bit more from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, a little bit more about the gates. It reads, I'm sure you've read in the Bible about the water gate. Not to be confused, I just realized with our water gate in America. The water gate, there is a sheep gate. You can imagine what they sold in that area. There is a fish gate, where they would have sold fish. And there is even a gate called the dung gate, where they take out the manure and things like that. So each gate had its particular name. And in particular, the gate was also the place of the legal tribunals, so that a seat among the elders in the gate was a high honor, while oppression in the gates was a synonym for judicial corruption. The king held public audiences in the gate, and to the gates prophets and teachers went with their messages, while on the other hand, the gates were also the resort of the towns' good-for-nothings, the ones that just wanted to hang around.

And so the city gate was a major public thoroughfare as well. It was the place to hear the latest news, the latest gossip. It was the place to go for buying and selling, for making legal agreements and contracts of different sorts. It was the place to go to, and seeking justice. And this practice was found throughout the neighboring nations of the Near East. It was common. But when it came to applying justice in the gates of the cities of God's people, God expected His people to apply His law to achieve just judgment.

In fact, perhaps you'll remember, you'll be turning back to Deuteronomy 16. Before the Israelites ever entered the Promised Land and were scattered among the many cities that they had soon conquered from the Canaanites, God, through Moses, gave very specific directions, instructions, to help ensure that justice and good government would occur within the cities of His people. Let's turn and read a bit here from Deuteronomy 16 and verse 18. These were God's instructions to the children of Israel. Deuteronomy 16 verse 18 through 20.

The bride blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the eternal your God is giving you.

So God expected His people to practice righteous judgment, just judgment founded upon His commandments, His law. And His law is what defines the true measure of righteousness and justice. And so it's interesting when you think about it, just as everybody went in and out of the same gates, whether they were farmers or merchants or servants or kings, God expected those who judged and governed to apply His just and holy laws equally to all and without prejudice. Without prejudice. But sometimes, to turn to chapter 17, sometimes upholding justice in the gates was not always pleasant.

God requires obedience and He hates defiance. He hates rebelliousness. And so justice can seem severe. And so, for example, let's read now from Deuteronomy 17 verse 2 through 5. If there is found among you within any of your gates, within any of your cities, in other words, which the eternal your God gives you, a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of the eternal your God and transgressing His covenant, who has gone and served other gods and worshipped them, either the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded, and it is told you and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently. There is to be an investigation. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination has been committed in Israel, then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has committed that wicked thing, and shall stone to death that man or woman with stones. And so at times, the city gate also became a place for public execution, for capital punishment, a place where all people could gather and see and reserve a rather stern warning to obey God. If we turn back again to the book of Nehemiah—I should have warned you to keep your finger there— let's turn back again to Nehemiah, and we're going to look at chapter 13 this time.

Here in Nehemiah 13, we'll see how Nehemiah took his responsibility over the city very seriously, and how he too worked to uphold God's justice. And so we're going to read here in chapter 13 what Nehemiah did when his fellow Jews chose to ignore God's law about keeping the Sabbath. So let's read his account starting in Nehemiah 13, verses 15 through 18. Nehemiah writes here, And then I contended, he argued, with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, What evil thing is this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day? 18. Did not your fathers do thus, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Yet you bring added wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath. Here, Nehemiah reminds his fellow Jews that they were doing the very thing their forefathers had been doing just a few generations previously. The very same thing that caused God to send them into exile and to Babylon. Keep your place here this time. Now let's look back at Jeremiah. Jeremiah specifically addressed the forefathers, the grandfathers, the great-grandfathers of these Jews that Nehemiah is addressing.

Let's notice what Jeremiah had said to them. Jeremiah 17, verses 19-22. You see, Jeremiah knew the history of his people, and he knew very well the history of Jerusalem. He knew God's law, and he took it very seriously. Now here's what Jeremiah had prophesied in the gates of Jerusalem that Nehemiah had just overseen their Greek construction. Jeremiah 17-19.

verse 25.

verse 27.

Of course, we know that the people ignored God's warnings through Jeremiah, and God did exactly what he said he would do when Jerusalem was destroyed. And so, going back to Nehemiah 13, do we now grasp a little more clearly why Nehemiah was absolutely stunned and outraged by what his fellow Jews were doing?

They were the descendants of those whom Jeremiah had warned to keep the Sabbath. And according to God's word and his mercy, he had just allowed them, their descendants, to return from exile. And they had just finished rebuilding the walls and rehanging the gates of Jerusalem, the same gates that had been burned and destroyed.

The fellow Jews, Nehemiah's fellow Jews, people he knew and worked with, they should have known better.

But Nehemiah did know better. He would not allow this generation of Jews to break God's Sabbath's commandment, and certainly not while he was governor over Judah and when he kept the gates of Jerusalem. So let's look back at Jeremiah 13, verse 19 now. Let's pick it up. Jeremiah 13, 19. So what did he do? The nobles weren't going to help him, so he took it into his own hands by his own authority as governor. Nehemiah 13, 19. So it was, At the gates of Jerusalem, as that began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, in charge that they must not be opened till after the Sabbath. Then I posted some of my servants at the gates, so that no burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day. I find it interesting that Nehemiah used his own servants as gatekeepers. Do you suppose he chose his own servants because he knew he could trust them? They were trustworthy. They would keep the gates shut on the Sabbath. Continue in verse 20. Now the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice, a couple weeks, they came back. Verse 21, Then I warned them and said to them, Why do you spend the night around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you. Now the New Living Translation is a little more specific. It translates as, I will arrest you. I will throw you in jail. It's humorous that we read that from that time on, they came no more on the Sabbath. Sometimes as a governor you had to get tough to mean what you mean. The point I'd like for us to understand here is that Nehemiah had been given the authority to oversee and maintain the well-being of Jerusalem, not just its walls and city gates, whose reconstruction he had overseen. He is also responsible for the people. Those few Jews had returned back from exile. He kept the people safe from the surrounding enemies. That's true. And in this case of keeping the Sabbath, Nehemiah also acted decisively to protect his people from themselves. To protect them from themselves, from their own bad decisions, from God's anger that their ongoing disobedience would have certainly brought down upon them. Now, of course, Nehemiah could have simply followed along with the desire of the people, right? King Saul had done that. It didn't work out well for King Saul. Nehemiah submitted to God. Nehemiah submitted to God the highest authority. And then he used his authority as governor to reinforce obedience to God's commandments. In a sense, we could say that Nehemiah acted as a spiritual gatekeeper over his people at this point, directing them, keeping them right with God. Sometimes gatekeepers have to do more than just man the physical gates.

Now, so far, we've primarily only talked about gates and gatekeepers. We've only talked about gates and gatekeepers. But what does all this mean for us? What does this mean for us, the third part of the sermon's title, Gates, Gatekeepers, and Us? Well, there are several personal spiritual lessons we can draw from our understanding of gates and gatekeepers. And some of those you may already begin to formulate in your minds as you've been listening. And there are some really good lessons we can draw from this. After all, we are very much like a city. We are like a city. Now, it sounds kind of silly, doesn't it? We're like a city. And I admit, comparing a city to people, to living human beings, does seem like a stretch, doesn't it? If you turn back with me to Proverbs 25-28, Proverbs 25-28, it really does seem like a stretch to compare ourselves, human beings, with a city. But it's not a stretch at all. And actually, it's biblical. It is biblical. Let's look at Proverbs 25-28.

Proverbs 25-28. And here we'll see that Scripture does indeed compare a city to a human being.

Proverbs 25-28. We read, Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down without walls.

A city without walls is defenseless, and it's open to attack by all sorts of different enemies. And likewise, an individual who does not govern himself or herself will always be at the mercy of enemies. Some of them are spiritual enemies. God would have us govern ourselves. God would have us maintain the walls and gates of our lives. God wants us to thrive. In other words, God wants us to rule over our spirit, over our thoughts, and over our emotions. And if we follow along with this comparison, this metaphor that Proverbs is setting up here, our conscience, then, can be likened to the governor of our city, ourself.

Our conscience should rule over anger, jealousy, and pride. Those are enemies. But our conscience should govern the self with faithfulness and obedience and love towards God and neighbor. Our conscience should also exercise its rule as a gatekeeper. Our conscience should also exercise its role as a gatekeeper over the gates of our city, the gates that open into ourself.

Now, that's interesting, isn't it? If our conscience is our governor, what might our gates be? What might our gates be? Well, we might remember the basics of human physiology and cognition, the way we think. Physically speaking, we only know and experience what enters our brains through the five senses. What we humans know scientifically or empirically speaking is based on what we see, hear, taste, smell, and touch. Those five senses inform our brains about our surrounding physical environment and our world. Those five senses act as gates, or gateways, by which our brains receive information and perceive what we call reality. That's a basis of what we know. These gates of sensory information impact our conscience by informing our thoughts, by affecting our emotions, and by directing our actions as well. In addition to the five sensory gates, our conscience can be swayed by spiritual influences that also affect our attitudes, our feelings, and emotions. Spiritually speaking, there exist gates or gateways to our hearts and minds that do affect us in a very strong and powerful way. What are the sources of those spiritual influences? Let's review that. Let's go back and read Ephesians 2, 1-3. Ephesians 2, 1-3.

Paul is writing, of course, and it reads, And you, God, ye made alive, who are dead in trespasses and sin, in which ye once walked, according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. Paul is reminding us where we come from, what was influencing us.

And Satan is the prince of the power of the air. He is one of those spiritual influences. And so we are prone to tempting thoughts. We are prone to desires due to his influence. You ever notice how wrong attitudes and feelings can just pop up in us unexpectedly? Ever do that? You're driving along or maybe talking to somebody and you say something or something comes to mind and you're shocked, you can't believe you just said that or you thought that?

Where do these things come from? Quite possibly, it's the influence of Satan. So pride and lust and jealousy, whatever it might be, can affect us, impact how we think, say what we say and do. In other words, our governor, our conscience, can't be swayed by Satan. But we can check those wrong attitudes and feelings by yielding to God. I think we understand that. God, through his Holy Spirit, also influences what we think and how we behave.

And his influence is very evident to us when you remember John 644. You can just jot that down. John 644, evidence of God's influence, where Christ said, No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. That's John 644. When God calls us, we might find ourselves suddenly interested, curious and excited about the things of God and his Bible like we never have been before.

And we might even think our interest is of our own doing. When I was first called, I remember telling people, I found God. Look what I found. Well, I learned later.

No, that's not right. It's the other way. God chose me. And it just seems like I found God. God started working with me, influencing me somehow to be interested in him. To start listening maybe to a telecast or read a magazine or to study his word, his Bible. Only the Father, through his Spirit, can draw us and motivate us, as he knows best, to know Jesus Christ. And then later, even after baptism and after we receive God's Holy Spirit within us who lay in our hands, we will continue to be assaulted by Satan's attitude, his influence.

Baptism and receiving God's Spirit does not make us immune from Satan's influence. That's not the way it works. But that's why it's so important that we keep a strong relationship with God. Why it's so critical that we keep guarding the gates of our hearts and minds, even after baptism. That means we need to stay close to God through prayer and studying the Bible, doing what God says. Doing that keeps ourself, our city, strongly founded in God.

God requires that his people remember and keep his commandments. In ancient times, as you might remember, back in Deuteronomy 6.9 and 11.20, God instructed the ancient Israelites to write his law, where? On the doorpost of your house and on your gates. Every time they went in and out of their doors or gates, God wanted his people to see a physical reminder to obey his law.

That writing was not some kind of incantation or a good-luck charm. That was not it at all. It was meant to be a reminder to them as they went out and did their daily work. Mind them to tell their kids to keep the commandments. Which commandments do we need to talk about today? That was a physical reminder. And having a visual physical reminder of God's commandments is very helpful. But it's far better, we know, to have his laws deeply etched and written upon the doorpost and gates of our heart and mind.

For example, staying close to God and living by his law should help us close our gate of sight to images and words that tempt us to commit sins of lust, greed, and pride. And when we obey God's law, we can bar our gate to hearing dirty jokes.

Blast me. We can bar our gates to hearing the crass and vulgar music that's out there. And I'm not picking on anyone's music style, because lately what I've heard, whether it's country or rap or pop, there's a lot of stuff out there that isn't befitting for us to listen to. We need to bar the gates. And just as gatekeepers' awesk control who or what leaves the city, so should we guard what leaves our hearts and minds.

We mustn't allow sinfulness to escape our city gates to the harm of others. And that means we must especially place a close watch and guard upon our tongue. Perhaps it is our tongue that needs our most vigilant gatekeeping. I just want to go back to James 3, verse 5-10.

It's such a little thing, the tongue.

But in my own personal experience, it packs a wallop for getting one in trouble. And that's definitely what James tells us as well. Let's remind ourselves of what James tells us here in James 3, verse 5-10.

James reminds us of the power of the unguarded tongue.

James 3, 5, Even so, the tongue is a little member and boast great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of nature. And it is set on fire by hell.

For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea is tamed, and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men who have been made in the similitude of God. And out of the mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.

If we would diligently govern ourselves and strive to follow God's law, then we would more often lock shut the double gates of our mouth. What double gates? We'd close our lips, we'd clamp down our teeth, and keep our tongues from scorching others with thoughtless, spiteful and hurtful words. Just close our lips and teeth, keep the tongue back, and we'll probably do a lot better, more often than not.

In fact, you can jot this down. Proverbs 21-23 shares this truth. Proverbs 21-23 tells us, Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles. And that is so true. That is so true. Guarding our tongues would certainly save ourselves and others much grief.

But the problem here is relying only upon our own human effort will just never be enough, never be enough, to govern ourselves according to God's law. We can't do it alone. And our willpower is an untrustworthy gatekeeper against temptation and sin. Trying to do it your own way, just using your willpower to control your tongue, to control what you watch and hear. It won't work. It's not enough. It's only when we yield to God's Spirit in us can we govern ourselves well and withstand and even overcome temptation and sin. And only through Christ do we have the strength we need to conquer sin and to achieve eternal life to guarantee that we are there. Let's turn, if this is in mind, to Psalm 127, verse 1. Here's a familiar verse here, but perhaps we haven't thought of it quite in this way. We need the help of God in our lives in order to govern ourselves, in order to keep the gates of our hearts and minds. Psalm 127.1. You'll know these words because they make up one of our favorite hymns. Psalm 127.1. Unless the Eternal builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless the Eternal guards the city, a watchman stays awake in vain.

Unless we surrender ourselves to God, then, and allow Him to govern in our hearts and minds, we will never be a city with strong walls and gates that endures until the end. We will never be a city on a hill that shines forth the righteousness of God.

Unless we trust and obey God, our sinful nature will continue to govern us instead, and we will remain like a city broken down without walls.

So what must we do? What must we do? What must we do? In practical terms, there are two things we must be doing, continually doing, to allow God to govern our hearts and minds. First, we must be actively engaged in the process of conversion. We must be actively engaged in the process of conversion. The process of conversion begins when the Father calls us to salvation, John 6, 44. When we choose to believe Christ and His Gospel of the Kingdom of God, then we must repent of sin, be baptized, and receive God's Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands. Then, for the remainder of our lives, and with the help of God's Spirit, now dwelling in us, we must continue to live a life of repentance from sin and of belief and obedience to God. As Dr. Ward has taught us, to believe God and obey God, that's faith. We have to live by faith. Now, obeying God is challenging and difficult. If you've been doing this for a while, you know it. It's that difficult path. Inevitably, we will face circumstances like the Jews of Nehemiah's day did, when we don't do what we know and ought to do. Sooner or later, we will foolishly open ourselves wide to temptation and willingly sin. We'll open up the gates. We will foolishly distress ourselves because of our sin. Our conscience and time, influenced by God's Spirit, will recognize our rebellion against God. We may not know when we sin at the time, but if we're staying close to God, the sin will come to us. We will eventually recognize it. And then, when we acknowledge that we did sin, we must repent sincerely with broken hearts and ask God to forgive us for sinning against Him. And the assurance we have from God is that He will forgive us. He will forgive us. And then, we must draw closer to God, recommit ourselves to living a life of repentance, recommit ourselves to obeying Him, fortifying ourselves with more prayer, with greater study of His Word, humble and loving service to God and others. This is all part of the process of conversion. We have to be actively engaged in it. We can't think about it. We actually have to do it.

And so, we will sin it. It's not easy, but we have to keep at it. And we mustn't allow ourselves to become discouraged in our efforts to live these new lives we have in Christ. Consider it this way. A city might resist its occupation by a foreign power. We may not have wanted to accept God's calling at first. We may have resisted for a while. But then, a city, after trying to resist occupation by a foreign power, it may finally capitulate. It will finally choose to surrender. We give in. But yet, even after the city surrender and gives in, it takes time and effort for that city to fully embrace the new ways and laws of that foreign power. It doesn't happen overnight. Our carnal nature, that old man in us, will always hate the foreign power of God to whom we have surrendered. This foreign power of God that lives within us. It will not easily give in to God's law and His Holy Spirit. That's why we must actively and conscientiously force ourselves to give up our old self-centered ways. We have to force ourselves to submit to God and to choose to do as He commands, such as when we know to sacrifice ourselves in serving others, or when we know we have to force ourselves to love our enemies. That's those who curse us and maybe even spit on us, or worse.

We must actively choose to keep ourselves in the hands of God. It's the best place for us to be. It's the safest place to be. It's better than a fortified city than to be within the hands of God. God will direct us. He will guide us. He will correct us, which is good. He will also protect us and govern us until ultimately, at the return of Christ, we will achieve total conversion through the resurrection and the putting on of new spiritual bodies. Conversion is not a one-time thing. It is a life-long process, and we have to be actively engaged. We cannot be passive. And only within ourselves do we know what we can be doing better. We need to be doing it. That was the first thing. The second thing we must do is remain focused on God's promise of eternal life. We must remain focused on God's promise of eternal life. And so, as we do battle against sin, as we do battle Satan's influence all around us, and even as we battle with other facts of life that we really, really don't like. What facts of life are those? Illness, chronic problems, old age, even death itself. Even when we battle those facts of life, we need to stay encouraged. We have to keep our focus up, ever looking up towards God. Like those faithful ones before us, we mustn't center our hearts and minds on the things of this earth, but on the things not yet seen, but surely true. Things surely that are coming. Let's turn to the book of Hebrews, chapter 11. Hebrews, chapter 11.

And this is where we can find great encouragement.

We're going to be reading from Hebrews 11, verses 8-10. You know, it's so easy to obsess on the things of our physical existence. It's so easy to be pulled down by all the commentators and talk radio and TV. I know, it's very discouraging. And it's so easy to get discouraged by the things we're having to deal with in our lives, like bad health and wondering where all your brown hair went. Things like that.

But it does us no real good when we obsess on those things of our physical existence. Instead, we really need to follow the example of people of faith, people like Abraham. Hebrews 11, 8-10. By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith, he dwelt to the land of promise, as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents, temporary dwellings with Isaac and Jacob. He errs with him of the same promise. Why did he do all this? Because he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Abraham was looking for something solid, truly real. Really real. Something spiritual. That's really real.

We do face challenges in life. It's a temporary existence. Abraham knew it, and we should remember that, too. And so we must live now, submissive to God's will, with our hearts and minds fixed on the city of God. That city that God is preparing for us. Let's also turn back and read Hebrews 13, 14-16.

This is where we need to keep our focus again. Hebrews 13, 14-16.

For here we have no continuing city, no enduring city. But we seek the one to come. Hebrews 13, 14.

For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. Therefore, by him, let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God. We keep our minds on God. And that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. If we're ever thankful to God, it's so hard for the problems of this world to really get to us and bring us down. And but do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. We need to be loving one another, our neighbor, even those who hate us. And so every day and always, we must choose to govern ourselves with God's help. We must govern ourselves according to His Ten Commandments, so that we can enter God's eternal city.

And based on what I read, my imagination is not big enough and great enough to understand all that I read, especially in the book of Revelation. Let's be turning there in Revelation 21. I don't quite grasp all the figurative language here, but I can grasp it's so much greater than anything that can possibly exist in this physical existence. The city God is creating for us, preparing for us, and that will be there for us, is truly a glorious city, full of glory, God's glory. Let's just notice a bit of the description of this city. It's in Revelation 21.

Revelation 21, and I'm going to begin in verse 21. With Gates. With Gates. Revelation 21, 21, the twelve gates were twelve pearls. Each individual gate was of one pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day. There shall be no night there. No night, only day. And finally, let's read Revelation 22. 14. Revelation 22. 14. Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, that they may enter through the gates into that city. Brethren, we need to be in that city. That's where God has called us to be. Our call to salvation is the start, the end is with the resurrection, and to be a part to live in this city, the city of God. And we will be in that city when we continue to be firmly engaged in the process of conversion, when we continually repent and continue to believe and obey God. I look forward to that time when you and I and so many others I haven't met are going to be in that city. And so, what must we do? Well, those are two things. But ultimately, we must press honor to the kingdom of God in that glorious city that awaits us. In ancient times, as we've seen, a strong city required strong gates. A strong city required vigilant and trustworthy gatekeepers. And a strong city required a decisive governor. Today, we should understand that we need to yield to God in us to guard and govern our lives in him so that we might achieve our place in God's truly glorious city. But until then, until that time, let us all strive to build a stronger and more submissive relationship with God, with our Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. And let us pray for one another. We really need to encourage one another and pray for one another. These are tough times. Let's pray for one another and encourage one another through the trials we face. And may we all be better gatekeepers over our hearts and minds as we continue onward and into the kingdom of God.