GUARD YOUR GATES
Be on guard for not just WHAT comes in, but also watch for WHO wants to enter...
I think most believers have learned the concept of protecting our spiritual gates: eyes, ears, mouth, and heart. For most, this is not new information and I would argue that we all from a young age or since conversion have put those to practice in filtering the kinds of shows, movies, and music we absorb for entertainment sake.
Understanding the need to protect our spiritual gates is foundational. But earlier this year, the Lord showed me a different perspective to the importance of it, and the invitational gift attached to it. That's what I want to share, and hopefully it enriches and builds up your understanding of it too.
I'm sure to no one’s surprise lol, God was able to bring revelation and understanding by connecting it through guarding my gates as a watchman/intercessor. Thankfully we're all called to pray and intercede so:
(I’m just joking LOL! but I really do hope this helps somebody because this new perspective completely changed how discern and guard my own gates for the last few months…)
Let’s jump right in and turn our bibles to Ezekiel 44:1-3 (ESV)
But first, let me provide a little context to refresh your memory and/or set the scene if you’ve never read these passages.
After being called and commissioned as a prophet and watchman for the Israelites exiled in Babylon, Ezekiel gets carried to Jerusalem through a vision, and begins to see the abominations taking place in the temple, ultimately leading to the glory departing! (I fear that today’s church is guilty of the same offences and a lot of em’ are operating without the presence of the Holy Spirit - mercy, mercy, mercy! Pray for the body of Christ!)
Ezekiel prophesies judgment against Jerusalem, but also judgment against the foreign gloating nations (even in disobedience, God don’t play about His children. If only we would stop playing in His face. Oh, what a kind and merciful God!)
At the end of chapter 39, the Lord is announces Israel’s restoration following its siege and fall.
From chapters 40-48, Ezekiel receives a second vision from God of the New Temple.
He’s given a tour of it by an angel, showcasing all the different rooms and gates. Detailing and describing all of their measurements and patterns.
The best part? He witnesses the glory of the LORD enter the temple where He establishes it as His throne forever. (Glory Hallelujah!)
Chapter 44 pays special attention to a specific gate, the eastern gate, and this is where I want to breakdown and share what I’ve learned.
“Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east. And it was shut. 2 And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it. Therefore it shall remain shut. 3 Only the prince may sit in it to eat bread before the Lord. He shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go out by the same way.” (Ezek 44:1-3)
WHY WAS THE EAST GATE SO SIGNIFICANT?
We know that this gate holds some sort of significance because the angel circled back to it on the vision tour “…he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east.” The Bible may be a very lengthy and wordy text, but anytime something is repeated, recalled, or re-mentioned, it’s usually an indication to pay attention! It’s said for a purpose! But here is the other reason: “…for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it.” (vs 2). The gate was significant and special simply because God used it. The LORD had entered the Temple through the eastern gate where He took His place on the throne.
WHY WAS THE EAST GATE SHUT AND REQUIRED TO REMAIN SO?
Since the LORD used it, it was now made holy and reserved for God’s use only. It remaining shut represented that His glory and presence would remain perpetually. “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever” (Ezekiel 43:7a) The Lord had no intention for His presence to ever leave again. His entrance came with a “no exit” sign. He was going to remain in the midst of His people ⬇️
WHO IS THE PRINCE AND WHY WAS AN EXCEPTION MADE FOR HIM?
“Only the prince may sit in it to eat bread before the Lord.” (vs 3) The prince was the only one granted the permission and privilege of access. What kind of access? The right to fellowship with God over a meal. But who is this prince? Ezekiel 34 & 37 reveals it:
“I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.” (Ezekiel 34:23-25)
“Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever.” (Ezekiel 37:25)
THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL REVELATION OF A MESSIANIC PROPHECY. KING DAVID IS A PICTURE AND FORESHADOW OF THE KING OF KINGS. DAVID SYMBOLICALLY POINTS TO THE GREATER DAVID – JESUS CHRIST!
WATCHMAN EYES
The primary member of the body used in our duties as a watchmen are the eyes, so it’s imperative that we guard them and are vigilant on how we use them. The east gate in the temple was shut because the Lord used it, meaning it was now a holy gate because He purposed it to be so. Now that is was set apart as holy, it was no longer accessible to just anyone or anything, unless it was to commune with the Lord.
Imagine if we treated the gates of our spiritual eyes with similar reverence. What would happen if we set our lives and eyes for the Lord’s purpose as His watchmen on the earth. Being vigilant of what we allow to enter through them because we don’t carry common or casual eyes, we have watchmen eyes for the Lord to use. We would be a lot more protective and diligent to protecting the purity of our sight, ensuring that what comes in is only what the Lord has purposed and given access to enter.
Because let’s be real, how can we possibly think that we can keep looking and watching the very things that pollute and contaminate our spirits and then turn around expecting Jesus to use those very same eyes to reveal the holy things? Spiritual impurities hinder our effectiveness in the spirit. The holy and profane don’t mix. The consecrated and the common don’t go together.
God wasn’t permitting it back in the Old Testament:
“They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.” (Ezek 44:23).
He also didn’t let it fly in the New Testament:
“for what fellowship does righteousness have with unrighteousness? and what communion does light have with darkness?” (2 Cor 6:14).
Our unchanging God calls us to a higher standard and set apart lifestyle “For I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am holy ( 1 Peter 1:16).
We can’t desire to want to teach and prophesy, and yet with our mouths we always gossip and slander. Guard your mouth!
We can’t desire to have discernment and sensitivity, but then continually feed our flesh with explicit music and content that only dull our senses. Guard your ears and eyes!
As your homegirl in Christ, I’ve been guilty of weak gatekeeping. I’ve learned the hard way why it is crucial to be selective, picky, and take everything back to the Lord in prayer. We have to always be on guard and on high alert to the various kinds of spiritual and natural contaminants threatening to enter our temples. The enemy has but one goal and that is to “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10).
Don’t give the prince of this world access through reckless living and poor guardianship to desecrate what was designed in holiness for The Prince’s communion.
WE’VE ALL BEEN TASKED TO BE GUARDIANS OF OUR GATES. SO GUARD THEM EFFECTIVELY AND KEEP WATCH OVER YOUR SOUL!
THE INVITATION TO COMMUNION
And so finally, the essence and heart of the message that I really want to underline is the awareness that there is a significantly greater purpose in stewarding our guardianship. Yes, the parameters and boundaries given and set by God through His Word and by His Spirit are necessary and should absolutely be implemented in our daily lives. But often, we neglect to see the more that comes attached to it. He admonishes us to protect the purity of our gates as a response to His invitation to come in and commune with us.
We can often have a distorted perception of God, seeing Him as a mean ruler imposing on us heavy burdens because of the laundry lists of dos and don’ts in Christianity. Through that broken lens it becomes easy to make Him the source and reason to why our faith walks feel more restrictive than liberating like the scriptures promise (John 8:36, Galatians 5:1, 2 Corinthians 3:17). It feels like everything is off limits and we can’t enjoy anything in this world. In our failure to truly see and know His heart, we often miss His sweet summons for intimacy through communion and fellowship.
The Lord God Almighty wants a relationship with each and every one of us. And not the superficial kind, but true deep intimacy.
The Master of the Universe invites us to recline at the table and eat with Him.
The Lion of the tribe of Judah and the Root of David wants to come into our hearts and spend time with us.
The Lamb of God seated on the everlasting throne wants to share His heart, thoughts and secrets with us.
Our guardianship isn’t only to keep the bad out, but we are to also watch for the Person desiring to come in! The Prince of Peace wants to deepen His fellowship with us. He so badly desires relationship with us, that He won’t allow us to be common. “We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession.” We are the furthest things from common!
I pray that we all begin to understand that as we guard our gates, we are also actively keeping the door of access open for the Lord Jesus and His Spirit.
I pray that we begin to comprehend just how much Jesus is completely and madly in love with us, and that it stirs up a responsive hunger to never neglect the invitation for the Lord to come into the gates of our hearts. May we open them, not settling for the occasional visits, but so that the King may dwell and abide, and be in our midst forever.