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I am going to now invite you to join me in the Word of God,

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Nehemiah chapter 2 verse 17.

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We are continuing our series on Arise and Build.

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Arise and Build.

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Praise God.

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And we're reading now from Nehemiah chapter 2 verse 17.

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This series, which is based on the vision, the theme for the year,

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Arise and Build, is based on the book of Nehemiah

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and the vision and the plan and the success that God gave this man

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in rebuilding and restoring Israel to its glory.

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This is what the Word of God says,

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Then I said to them,

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See, you see the distress that we are in,

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How Jerusalem lies waste,

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And its gates are burned with fire.

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Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem

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that we may no longer be a reproach.

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And I told them of the hand of my God,

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which had been good upon me,

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and also of the king's words that he had spoken to me.

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So they said, so the people said,

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Let us rise up and build.

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Then they set their hands to do this good work.

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With the help of the Holy Ghost,

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I want to preach today on the thought,

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Walls and Gates, Walls and Gates.

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Church, let us pray right now.

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Let's ask God to speak to us.

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Father, I thank you for your spirit that is in this place today.

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Thank you for what you're doing this hour

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within the apostolic movement,

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within the apostolic church,

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God, which we are so blessed to be a part of.

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And I pray God that you would speak to us today,

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that you would anoint the ears and hearts of every here in this place,

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that this word would fall on good ground.

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And I pray God that you would anoint my lips of clay

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and feel my heart in my mouth with your word.

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God, we take authority and we bind every contrary spirit to that of yours,

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and we cast it out of this place.

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God, confusion, doubt, God, misunderstanding, all of that.

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And we just release clarity and understanding and wisdom

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in the house of God today.

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Let your name be glorified.

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Can everyone say amen in Jesus' name?

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You may be seated in the presence of God.

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The city of Jerusalem was originally surrounded by a wall

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that included 10 gates.

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But the walls and gates had been reduced to a pile of rubble

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as we have been reading and looking at in the story of Nehemiah.

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Now, whenever we teach on Nehemiah,

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we usually focus on the walls and rightly so.

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But I want to inform you today that that's only part of the revival.

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That's only half the story.

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Gates also need to be restored.

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And when Nehemiah went to survey the condition of Jerusalem,

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he noted in his own personal journal,

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which the book of Nehemiah is actually his personal diary.

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It's his journal that he wrote.

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And in his journal, he notates his observations

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and along with the walls that were destroyed,

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he also again and again makes emphasis on the condition of the gates.

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So what I want to point out today is that walls and gates

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are important to the rebuilding of God's kingdom

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or to the rebuilding of his people.

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Walls and gates serve two different but equally important purposes.

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Walls are important because they keep the wrong people and things out.

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Amen.

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Gates are also important because they let the right people and things in.

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Amen.

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In my experience, people and churches as a whole tend to lean.

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There's a tendency to lean either one way or the other.

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They're either all walls or they're all gates.

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People either tend to have massive walls, great big fortified walls,

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and tiny little gates, leaving them isolated from people,

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from evangelism, from relationships and outreach,

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or on the other end they have massive gates but tiny little walls,

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leaving them exposed.

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Yes, they may love people and be socially inclined and inclined to talk to others

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and have massive gates but because they have such tiny walls,

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they're exposed and spiritually weak.

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Now I want to tell you today that neither extreme is right.

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We need both walls and gates if we are to build the kind of church

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that God wants in this hour.

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I want to tell you something church that without walls,

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we'll never grow up.

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That's the case.

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We need walls if we're going to grow stronger and if we're going to grow upward towards God.

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If we're going to fulfill the first and the greatest commandment,

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which is to love the Lord, our God, with all of our hearts, our souls,

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and our strength and our mind, then we need strong walls.

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Someone's saying amen for that.

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Gotta have strong walls.

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Without walls, we won't grow up.

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But without gates, we won't grow out.

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So without walls, we won't be able to love God successfully,

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but without gates, we won't be able to love our neighbors as ourselves successfully.

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And this gives us a picture of what Jesus commanded us to do.

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The first and greatest commandment, you shall love the Lord your God.

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Have some strong walls that lead upward to God,

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but also the second, which is just as important, to love your neighbor as yourself.

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So what I've come today to preach is that as we reach up,

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we need to reach out. Somebody say amen today.

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We cannot do one without the other.

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We cannot be all about reaching out that we don't reach up,

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and we can't be all about reaching up that we don't reach out.

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We need walls and gates in the church.

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Amen. We need walls and gates in our families.

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Amen. We need walls and gates in our marriages.

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We need walls and gates in our personal lives.

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We cannot be all walls and we cannot be all gates.

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We've got to have both to be the fortified city,

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the functional city that God has called us to be,

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a city on a hill that is full of light and glory.

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Amen. Somebody.

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So our text today picks up towards the end of Nehemiah chapter two.

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And just for a moment, I want to paint the picture of the experience,

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the spiritual experience that Nehemiah has

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as he embarks upon this vision, this calling that God has given him.

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And then towards the end of Nehemiah chapter two,

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it describes his journey from his palace to Jerusalem,

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where he began to survey the damage and assess the situation.

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He got boots on the ground to look up close and personal at ground zero

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to see exactly what was going on.

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No different than when a world leader such as the president of the United States

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will visit the site of a hurricane or even 9-11 when President Bush

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went to ground zero to get a firsthand picture of the condition of what has taken place.

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Nehemiah does the same, but in verse 13,

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he writes about how he proceeded to look at where things were at.

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He writes how he started his inspection by entering through the Valley Gate.

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You can read it on your own, Nehemiah 2 and verse 13.

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He mentions the name of the gate that he starts his survey, the Valley Gate.

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Everyone say Valley.

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And this was located on the southeastern end of the city.

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Now, I meant to get a picture and I failed to do it, so I apologize,

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but you can look at an old map of the city of Jerusalem, an old Jerusalem map,

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and you will see that there are 12 gates throughout the city.

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And the gate where he was was on the furthest southern western side.

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And it was the furthest gate from all the other gates.

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It was kind of by itself an isolator or desolate, and this is where he was.

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And the Valley Gate was the name of that gate.

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As the name implies, the Valley Gate, it was facing a deep and narrow valley,

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a valley that was called Himnon.

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And this valley is interesting because the name Himnon means wailing or crying.

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So I want you to picture in your mind, in the mind of the Spirit,

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that this is where Nehemiah begins to assess the need for the rebuilding.

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He enters through the Valley Gate, a valley that is connected to wailing and brokenness.

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And through that Valley Gate, this is all significant.

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We see a picture of the spiritual journey that we are called to go through.

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It is very hard for anybody to get a full grasp or a fully internalized

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and fully owned what God is calling us to do

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and make the mission of Christ and the mission of the church personal

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and real in our lives unless you go through what Nehemiah went through, which was a Valley Gate.

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He felt in his depth of his being.

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He felt in the core of his spirit this present need that existed in front of him.

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And I feel like it was symbolic, it was emblematic of the condition of Jerusalem at that time.

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And through the Valley Gate, it shows us that if we're ever going to make the kind of impact

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that God wants to do, not only in our lives and in our families and our homes

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and then those that we're called to reach, we're going to have to go through a valley.

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We're going to have to experience and feel what God feels

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and go through the steps from heaviness to healing and from brokenness to blessedness

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and start in the Valley, but work your way towards where God is calling us to make an impact.

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Every, can I tell you, every revival, every miracle, every testimony starts in the Valley.

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It starts in a place where God can speak to you. Oh, hallelujah.

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It starts in a place where God can deal with you.

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It starts in a place where God can get ahold of you.

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I need somebody today for God to get ahold of your heart and God get ahold of your spirit

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and go through the Valley Gate.

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Can you clap your hands and give the Lord some praise today?

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Oh, he didn't start in other prestigious gates.

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There were better gates that probably he could have started, more symbolic gates,

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but he went through the Valley Gate and it shows me that the greatest revivals that God does

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always starts in the least expected places.

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Oh, God always starts in places you never think he would start.

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God always begins his greatest work in the lowest and the darkest places.

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Thank God, because if that's where you are today, you're St. Pastor, I'm in the Valley.

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I've got good news for you.

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God's getting ready to show you something powerful.

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God's getting ready to do something in your life.

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Somebody ought to give God some praise today.

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Oh, I feel something in my spirit today.

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Somebody say preach.

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I want to preach today if that's all right.

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And he was in the Valley.

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And through the Valley is where Nehemiah viewed the broken walls.

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You'll never see and internalize and personalize that what God wants you to do

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if you don't go through that valley and if you don't go through that testing

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and feel it in your heart.

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And that's where he viewed the broken walls and the burned down gates of his city.

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And then he boldly declared in verse 17 of Nehemiah chapter 2, he said,

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come let us build, let us build this place back to where it needs to be.

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And the first thing he did was build the wall.

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Someone say walls.

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He built a wall.

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He built a wall.

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You know, I've only got two points today.

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I wonder if you can guess where they are.

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We need walls and we need gates.

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Amen.

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But he first built the wall.

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It starts with the walls.

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The walls are essential and walls are important and they serve a variety of purposes.

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But there are two that I'd like to point out today.

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The first purpose of a wall is for protection.

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Someone say protection.

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Amen.

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We need spiritual walls.

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Amen.

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For protection.

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Amen.

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Both in Bible times and in present day situations.

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A city without walls is vulnerable and defenseless.

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It is weak and it is exposed.

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And in the case of ancient Jerusalem, walls provided a physical barrier between the people of God and the enemies of God.

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They needed walls to protect that which was sacred, that which was precious,

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not just the temple and the things of God, but their homes and their families.

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They needed this wall and Nehemiah's heart broke over the condition of the walls.

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Why?

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Because it was symbolic of the lack of protection and the lack of barriers that God's people needed.

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It was symbolic of a nation with no spiritual protection or covering.

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And he knew that if these people are going to preserve their future, they needed to build a wall.

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Hallelujah.

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And that wall had, and so does the church of Jesus Christ.

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In the 21st century, the apostolic church has got to have apostolic walls that are built up and fortified.

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You need them in the church and you need them in your home and you need them in your marriages and you need them around your children.

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My God, I wish I had some help here today.

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We need walls.

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We've got to have them and the nation of Israel today is not protected by a visible wall like it was thousands of years ago,

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but an invisible wall.

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Even today, the nation of Israel understands this principle, but they have what is known as the iron dome.

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Have you heard of the iron dome?

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This is an incredible work of mechanics and technology.

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The iron dome is a highly advanced missile defense system that detects and shoots down enemy fire in the sky.

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Through a combination of radar, communication and precise counter fire, the iron dome has a 90% success rate of intercepting enemy rockets.

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We have probably seen, if you have seen the news in recent times with a war between Israel and these terrorist organizations,

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this iron dome has been non-stop and it's intercepting of enemy fire.

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This is a recent picture from the war that's been happening over there.

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What I saw the iron dome that Israel is using to protect themselves, it's invisible, but it's real.

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It made me think about the iron dome that exists over the child of God when they find themselves in the presence of God

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and they find themselves in obedience to God.

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There is a spiritual iron dome that God, oh my God, my friend, let me tell you we've got an iron dome.

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The Psalmist said, he who dwells in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

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I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress.

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How many of you are thankful today that you've got protection?

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You want to give God some praise right now?

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You want to open up your mouth right now?

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You want to thank him?

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My God and him will I trust?

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Come on, let's give him some praise.

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How many of you are glad you've got an iron dome?

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And you want to be under that iron dome?

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You've got to dwell in the secret place of the most high.

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If we're going to have sustained revival and growth that we need to be and find ourselves some spiritual walls,

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we've got to build some spiritual walls around our lives, our marriages, our families and our ministries,

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or else those rockets at the enemy, those fiery darts the enemy is sending our way.

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We'll be able to penetrate our hearts and our lives in our churches, but the devil is a liar.

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We've got protection in the name of Jesus.

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And the second person or excuse me, the second purpose of a wall is separation.

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Everybody say separation.

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Amen.

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Separation.

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The wall is a line of distinction.

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It is a border.

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It is a contrast between the people of God and the outside world.

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You see, without this wall, there is no separation.

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There is no distinction between those that are in the city and those that are outside of the city.

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And in many cases, even today, even in a modern day context, if there is no border in a country, then there is no country.

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If there is no border, there is no nation.

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It is impossible to maintain the identity, the culture and the values of a nation without a proper border.

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And I'm here to tell you that it's the same in the spirit.

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If we don't have a spiritual border, then we don't have a church.

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We've got to have a line of distinction between that which is of the world and that which is not.

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Can I hear an amen today?

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If there is no separation, there is no salvation.

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If there is no border, then there is no difference between who we are and who they are.

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But I remember what the Bible says that he has called us out of darkness into his marvelous life.

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Come on and help me out here today.

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I remember that we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, his own peculiar people.

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We are not like everybody else. Hallelujah!

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We've got some spiritual walls that we've got in our lives.

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Amen, somebody, and we are called to build these in our life.

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We are called by God in 2 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 17.

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He says, come out from among them and be separate.

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He says, you've got to be separate. You've got to be separate, separate.

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There's got to be walls.

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This is the definition of holiness.

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To be holy is to be separated and set apart unto God.

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We heard a little bit about that in our midweek Bible study this week.

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Brother Marni was talking about holiness and separation.

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And this is exactly what it looks like. There is a wall.

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There is a border of distinction between us.

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And if we're going to have sustained revival, and if we're going to have God-honoring revival,

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and if we're going to have healthy growth, and we're going to see great victories,

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and miracle signs and wonders, then we have to have a wall.

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And I know that there are people, look, I'm going to talk about gates in just a moment.

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And there are a lot of Christians, you know what, they want all gates and no walls.

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They want all gates and no walls.

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I'm going to preach about gates in a moment.

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But let me just ask you all gates people a question.

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What do you think those gates are swinging on?

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What do you think those gates are? What's holding up those gates?

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I'll tell you what's holding up the gates, the walls.

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Oh my God. And our gates will only be as strong as our walls.

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And as long as we don't compromise our walls, then we can have as big a gate as we want, brother.

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Oh, I feel something in my spirit today.

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Don't tell me that we have to sacrifice our walls so we can have bigger gates.

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I'm telling you, as long as we've got strong gates or strong walls, we can have strong gates.

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But how do we build these walls?

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Before I move on, let me suggest what I believe through my understanding of Scripture and how God works.

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The most powerful tool for building up the walls in our life.

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I'll tell you what it is.

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And I'll show it to you through a reverse example.

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What do I mean by that?

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Let me give you a reverse example of the power of building and tearing down walls.

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A reverse example looks like the people of God, the children of Israel, when they stepped into the land of Canaan.

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My God, I want to preach this so bad.

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They stepped into the land of Canaan.

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And their first city they were going to conquer was Jericho.

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And they went around Jericho.

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Remember the story?

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And they marched around it just as God said.

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But then it was through the power of their voice when God says, open up your mouth and shout.

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That's when the walls came down.

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So the Holy Ghost began to speak to me, brother.

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He said, if this same voice can tear the walls down, it can build the walls up.

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If you don't believe me, the Bible says that the power of life and death is in the tongue.

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And there's somebody here today, you've got to learn how to open up your mouth and declare what God says of the Lord.

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Somebody ought to give God some praise today.

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Somebody ought to thank Him.

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Open up your mouth, brother.

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If the walls can come down with our voice, they can be built up.

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You build the walls in your family every time you speak the Word of God, every time you declare the goodness of God,

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every time you open up your mouth and worship and praise and adoration unto God, you know what you're doing.

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You're building up the walls, my God.

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Every time you speak the name of Jesus in prayer, you're building up the walls.

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Every time you declare, my God, His Word in your family, you're building up the walls.

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We've got to build the walls.

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Someone say, build it.

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Build those walls.

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And we build it by speaking the Word.

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And how does faith come?

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Faith come by hearing the Word of God.

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So if you want to build faith, I'll hear me, husbands and fathers, mothers and wives.

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Speak the Word of God into your children.

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Speak the Word of God into your home.

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Speak the Word of God into your marriage.

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Speak the Word of God on the workplace.

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Speak the Word of God to yourself and watch how those walls will begin to be built up in your life.

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That the enemy won't know what to do without walls.

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We are like Proverbs 25 and verse 28 says, whoever has no rules over his spirit is like a city with broken down.

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It's like a city broken down without walls.

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If we don't have walls, we'll eventually not have a city at all.

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If we don't have walls, we won't have a family at all.

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If we don't have walls, we won't have a ministry at all.

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If we don't have walls, we don't have a church or a platform at all.

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It's our walls that give us our stability.

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Amen, somebody.

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But if we build the walls, the Lord showed me this verse in Isaiah 60, 18.

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If we build the walls, violence shall no longer be heard in your land.

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Neither wasting nor destruction within your borders.

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But you shall call your walls salvation and your gates praise.

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Clap your hands and give the Lord some praise today.

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Hallelujah, somebody shout, hallelujah.

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Not only were the walls of Jerusalem broken down, but its gates were burned with fire.

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They had no gates anymore.

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So Nehemiah specifically asked the king in chapter 2 and verse 8,

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a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he must give me timber to make the beams for the gates of the citadel.

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He said, king, I can't just go over there and build walls.

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God's called me to build gates.

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And I've got to see the keeper of the forest.

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God give me another message.

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I'm going to preach it someday about the keeper of the forest.

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But I just imagined that Asaph, all his life, never knew that one day the man of God was going to show up at his place

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and ask for the thing that he had been working and planting and building up.

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Oh, that's another message right there.

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You never know when God's going to call your number.

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I want you to be ready.

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My God, hallelujah.

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Don't go steal my message, brother. I'm going to preach it one day.

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And he says, give me, I need access to the trees because we have to build the gates.

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Someone say the gates.

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Let me spend the remainder of my time talking about the gates in the biblical era.

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Nehemiah was living in, the gates were important.

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They were significant.

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They were so significant.

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This itself is a message all by itself.

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They were significant cross sections in the culture.

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They were central.

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Gates were central to moving society forward, often serving as strategic middle ground for business transactions,

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marriage arrangements, as it was with Boaz and Ruth.

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And other weighty matters which had to be judged were done at the gates of the city.

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In other words, words, worlds, I should say, lives and fortunes and destinies were changed or could be changed at the gates.

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The gates represented life turnaround.

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The gates represented where the decision could change someone's future.

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The gates oftentimes were also where wars would break out.

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This was a strategic place.

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Jerusalem's gates in particular were not only for entering the protection of the city,

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but also as a worshiper to enter to the presence of the Lord.

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These gates were important.

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And just as critical for this, just as critical as it is for the city to have walls,

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to keep the bad guys and the bad stuff out.

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It also was critical to have gates to let the right people in.

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Those that were seeking refuge, those that were seeking safety,

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those that were running to the strong tower in order to be saved.

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The name of the Lord is a strong tower, amen?

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And the righteous run in and are saved.

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My question is, who's letting them in?

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You've got to have gates to let these in.

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So my question to you today is how are your gates?

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Are you all walls?

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Huh? And no gates?

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You need gates in your life to connect with the right people.

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Amen.

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To connect with the right people, to let them in.

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You need gates to socialize, to network, to evangelize, to witness to people.

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Gates are all about our horizontal relationships.

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And there are so many ways you can take and apply this to your life.

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Primarily I'm looking at this just through the lenses of evangelism, of outreach,

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but you can apply this to all human interactions and relationships

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that God wants to give us, or that would be healthy and good.

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But walls without gates, you know what those are called? Castles.

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Hey, hey, hey man.

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You know, there are some.

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Did you know, did you know there are castle Christians?

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They're protected, but they're isolated.

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They're secure, but they're distant.

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Hey, my God.

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They know how to win arguments, but they don't know how to win people.

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God forbid, brother, that we be all walls and no gates.

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Hallelujah.

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God forbid that we go to heaven, but we don't take anybody with us.

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This attitude of having all walls and no gates has consequences

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that don't announce themselves immediately, but over time,

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we will pay the price for being personally or as a church, all walls and no gates.

435
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This attitude not only shuts out people, but it eventually shuts out God.

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You say, well, how is that possible?

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May I remind you of the picture that John gave us of Jesus?

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Where was he knocking?

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Where was he standing?

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I wonder how he got there.

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Hallelujah.

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I wonder how he was standing on the outside knocking.

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So don't tell me that as a result of the way we live, our attitude, our action,

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that Jesus is not on the outside of trying to get in.

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Oh my God.

446
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Now it's going to get quiet on me now.

447
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Amen.

448
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:23,000
But what good would it be to be all walls and no gates?

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Hallelujah.

450
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Even Noah's art had a gate.

451
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It didn't go in, but he preached it.

452
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Amen.

453
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And he welcomed people.

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Hallelujah.

455
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So this attitude will eventually shut God out.

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So we've got to have gates, openness in our hearts and in our lives,

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not only for people, but eventually it's those same gates

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that give us a sensitivity to the heart of God.

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It's those same gates that make sure that we don't become so fortified,

460
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so inverted, so castle-like that not even God can get in and move in our midst.

461
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No wonder that Psalmist David said these words,

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Lift up your head, O you gates,

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and be lifted up, you everlasting doors and the King of glory shall come in.

464
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Amen.

465
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Oh my God.

466
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Hallelujah.

467
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If we will have opened gates, not only are we opening up ourselves to the right people

468
00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:36,000
and to the right connections and to the right places that people could come

469
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and we can have healthy horizontal connections and relationships with people

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for the kingdom purposes, but also so that the glory of God,

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he said, Lift up your gates.

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Hallelujah.

473
00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:55,000
The Bible says we enter his gates with thanksgiving into his courts with praise.

474
00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:57,000
We need gates.

475
00:33:57,000 --> 00:33:59,000
We've got to have them.

476
00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:04,000
Maybe your gates, however, have been burned with fire.

477
00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:05,000
I'm almost done.

478
00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:08,000
Maybe your gates have been burned with fire.

479
00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:15,000
Nehemiah, he went, he saw what he had heard, that not only were the walls broken down,

480
00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:25,000
not only were, was there rubble from the walls, but also that the timber of the gates,

481
00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:31,000
the gates had burned down.

482
00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:35,000
You know that gates are easier to burn than walls.

483
00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:36,000
You know why?

484
00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:39,000
Because they're made of wood.

485
00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:41,000
They're made of wood.

486
00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:45,000
And we know that wood burns, right?

487
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:50,000
You see, when the enemy can't destroy your walls, and the enemy knows this,

488
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:56,000
do you know the enemy knows that he's not going to get you to reject your walls.

489
00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:59,000
In fact, he's not going to stop you from building your walls.

490
00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:06,000
But if he can burn your gates, you say, well, what does that matter?

491
00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:12,000
So he gets to my gates, and as long as I've got walls, and as long, I'm going to be all right.

492
00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:22,000
But that's not the case, because oftentimes, many times, in military conflict,

493
00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:28,000
if a city loses its gates, eventually it loses its city.

494
00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:33,000
If you don't have the right gates, you lose the city.

495
00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:37,000
He who controls the gates controls the city.

496
00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:38,000
Why?

497
00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:41,000
Because you control what comes in and what goes out.

498
00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:44,000
You can shut it down.

499
00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:48,000
Could it be that some of you might be shutting out the blessings, the opportunities,

500
00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:51,000
the thing that God wants to do, simply because you may have strong walls,

501
00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:56,000
but you haven't repaired the gates.

502
00:35:56,000 --> 00:35:58,000
You haven't repaired.

503
00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:03,000
And then when I saw the wood, I'm giving away my whole message that I'm going to preach one day.

504
00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:12,000
But when I thought about the keeper of the trees, I thought about what did my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, die on?

505
00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:18,000
God, he died on a tree.

506
00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:21,000
What's the cure to rebuilding the gates?

507
00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:24,000
I'll tell you, it's the cross.

508
00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:26,000
It's Jesus.

509
00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:28,000
Oh my God, it's the Lord.

510
00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:30,000
It's Jesus Christ.

511
00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:35,000
He gives us everything we need through the gospel.

512
00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:41,000
Oh Lord, through His love, through His power, through His mercy and His grace,

513
00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:47,000
to rebuild the gates of our lives.

514
00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:48,000
The devil's a liar.

515
00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:50,000
He wants to destroy.

516
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:52,000
Yes, he wants the walls.

517
00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:56,000
But if you can't get the walls, he's like, well, if I could just shut down their gates.

518
00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:59,000
And some of you, maybe your gates have been burned with disappointment.

519
00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:01,000
People have upset you.

520
00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:02,000
Life has upset you.

521
00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:09,000
Your gates may be burned over delayed or abandoned answers and life goals.

522
00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:15,000
Your gates may be burned over people burning you and stabbing you in the back.

523
00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:17,000
Your gates might be burned.

524
00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:19,000
Oh my God, I just feel like a ministry to somebody right now.

525
00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:26,000
Your gates might be burned for putting yourself out there and not being valued enough.

526
00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:33,000
Your gates might be burned for trying and failing and just going back to what you're used to.

527
00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:38,000
Your gates might be burned because you don't know if you have what it takes.

528
00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:48,000
But I've come to tell you that God wants to restore the walls, my God, and the gates.

529
00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:51,000
This is why I love where God has taken us as a church.

530
00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:53,000
And I'm going a little over my time here.

531
00:37:53,000 --> 00:38:00,000
But listen, this is why I love because in our city groups and our new school of discipleship that's coming,

532
00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:07,000
it's going to serve both purposes in building walls and building gates.

533
00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:11,000
Our school of discipleship, for those of you who want to be disciples, re-disciples.

534
00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:13,000
I mean, everybody is welcome to join this.

535
00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:15,000
You, we're going to strengthen the walls.

536
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:17,000
We're going to build up those walls.

537
00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:20,000
We're not just going to build walls in our school of discipleship.

538
00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:27,000
We're going to show you how to build gates so that we can reach others for Christ.

539
00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:30,000
And then in our city groups, we're going to do the same.

540
00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:32,000
We're going to, we're going to build walls.

541
00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:34,000
Why? Because we're strengthening as iron sharpens iron.

542
00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:39,000
We're building each other up, edifying one another with prayer in the word.

543
00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:47,000
But we're also building gates because we want to reach others and welcome them in to the love of God.

544
00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:50,000
Would you stand with me here today?

545
00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:54,000
Let me show you something as you're standing.

546
00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:59,000
The Lord showed me this because I started thinking more about these walls and gates.

547
00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:02,000
I said, Lord, why is this important?

548
00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:07,000
I mean, Nehemiah, that's an old book, God.

549
00:39:07,000 --> 00:39:09,000
We don't live in those times anymore.

550
00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:11,000
Is it really relevant anymore?

551
00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:13,000
What Nehemiah did?

552
00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:17,000
I mean, an old ancient wall with gates.

553
00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:20,000
I mean, God, we're in the 21st century.

554
00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:22,000
How is that relevant today?

555
00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:29,000
And then the Lord took me to Revelation and he said, no, no, no, no, you son.

556
00:39:29,000 --> 00:39:31,000
This is how God talks to me.

557
00:39:31,000 --> 00:39:36,000
You son, you got, I'm not just talking about, you're thinking I'm talking about the old Jerusalem.

558
00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:44,000
No, no, no, no, you need to preach this because I'm preparing my people for the new Jerusalem.

559
00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:52,000
And then the Lord showed me, put the scripture brother, then the Lord showed me what John saw when he saw that city come down from heaven.

560
00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:56,000
And he described this celestial city.

561
00:39:56,000 --> 00:40:01,000
Oh my God, who's builder and maker is God.

562
00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:07,000
And he writes this and he says in Revelation 21, 12, it's not there for the, there he goes.

563
00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:16,000
He says this, this is what he saw in the new Jerusalem, the new destiny, the forever home of God's people.

564
00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:21,000
He writes and she had a great and high wall.

565
00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:22,000
How many of you see the wall there?

566
00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:23,000
Amen.

567
00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:24,000
Y'all see the wall?

568
00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:26,000
And what else does it have?

569
00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:28,000
And gates.

570
00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:35,000
God showed me we've got to build walls and gates here because that's what our eternity is going to look like when we get there.

571
00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:39,000
This is what the church ought to look like.

572
00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:42,000
Oh my God, hallelujah.

573
00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:45,000
Somebody give God some praise today.

574
00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:49,000
This is a picture of our eternal home.

575
00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:51,000
This is where we are headed.

576
00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:53,000
This is our destiny.

577
00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:57,000
And I believe today that if we would give our hearts to God right there where you are,

578
00:40:57,000 --> 00:40:59,000
I'm going to invite you if you just begin to pray with me.

579
00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:03,000
I feel the spirit of God moving in this house today.

580
00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:05,000
Oh, I feel something.

581
00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:08,000
I felt it from the moment that I stepped into this house.

582
00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:11,000
I felt it from the moment that I drove into the parking lot.

583
00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:13,000
Something was calling to me.

584
00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:15,000
I felt an anointing.

585
00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:18,000
I felt something moving in my spirit.

586
00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:22,000
And I felt like God was wanting to do something here today.

587
00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:28,000
God wants us to be a people of walls and gates.

588
00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:31,000
But we need to offer ourselves to God today.

589
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:34,000
We need to render ourselves to God today.

590
00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:39,000
We need to, oh, hallelujah, present ourselves to God today.

591
00:41:39,000 --> 00:41:46,000
A living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is a reasonable service.

592
00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:50,000
We need to come before God with an open heart.

593
00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:57,000
We need to come before God and assess the condition of our walls and our gates.

594
00:41:57,000 --> 00:42:04,000
And say, Lord, have your way in me, God, so that we can have greater revival.

595
00:42:04,000 --> 00:42:07,000
I'm asking for somebody to pray with me right now.

596
00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:09,000
I feel the spirit of the Lord here today.

597
00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:15,000
I feel God is raising up the walls so that he can put up the gates.

598
00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:18,000
And I want those gates to be great gates.

599
00:42:18,000 --> 00:42:22,000
Oh, my God, I want them to be powerful gates.

600
00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:24,000
But it starts right here.

601
00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:27,000
Somebody build up those walls today to heaven.

602
00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:30,000
Somebody lift up that name today.

603
00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:34,000
Somebody worship and exalt that name right now.

604
00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:36,000
The name that is above all names.

605
00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:39,000
The name that has his name every knee shall bow.

606
00:42:39,000 --> 00:42:44,000
Every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.

607
00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:46,000
He is the God of this city.

608
00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:48,000
He's the God of the New Jerusalem.

609
00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:51,000
He's the God of city light.

610
00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:53,000
He's the God of your life.

611
00:42:53,000 --> 00:43:19,000
He and he is worthy to be praised.