A SPIRITUAL CHECK-UP

It is good to have a spiritual checkup once in a while. . . so that God can show us where we are missing out . . . or show more clearly what He has done in our lives.

Psalm 107:1 O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

(2) Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;

God through Christ via Calvary, has redeemed us from the hand of the enemy . . . He has shown and is still showing His mercy . . . for HE is mercy-FULL. We also have been redeemed from the obligations of the LAW by Jesus Who fulfilled all its requirements.

A CITY is a place where many people dwell together, flow together and should trust each other.

(3) And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.

Many Christians today are wandering in the wilderness land that surrounds their lives . . . they feel very much alone but they have a longing to be experientially a part of the living city . . . to be pmoving corporately in expressing their Lord — knowing that they are a part of His Body. They have not yet discovered what or where it is, that they might go there. Note that it is the hungry and thirsty that get led by the Lord in a correct way!

(6) Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.

They, the people, are together now going towards that City-Bride so that they might experience it more fully . . . Revelation 21 tells us that ‘she’ is coming out of the unseen heavenly realm of spirit into the visible realm here on earth.

(8) Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

(35) He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.

(36) And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation;

Notice the progress here in these verses . . .they did not find the city that they were longing after . . . so they became hungry and thirsty . . . after righteousness (Who is the Lord Himself) . . .and they were then teachable enough to be led by the Lord — and thus they were moving forward. Their sometimes dry wilderness, God caused to be fruitful and He started to do a work in these ones while they were still in the wilderness. However, their wilderness was no longer dry, for it was now like a lake fed by springs . . . they had the water of the word of life and it was fed by the Spirit moving in and around them.

God then showed them that THEY, these hungry, teachable ones would be the ones who would PREPARE this city . . . why not?

They were to eventually (under the new covenant) BECOME THAT CITY. They would have learned as they dwelt together in the wilderness that they were being fully restored by the Lord.

Knowing that we are ‘The New Jerusalem’ . . . the ‘Jerusalem from above’ , as Galations 4 describes, we need to grasp exactly what this means.

The City that is likened to a prepared bride is described at the end of the Book of Revelation and we read that this city has twelve gates. The dictionary tells us that a ‘ GATE’ is an opening providing a passage way through a fence or wall.

Twelve gates for us who are called to be a part of that Bride-City . . . twelve gate-experiences through which we are to pass through. The pattern of these gates are shown to us in the natural city which was rebuilt by Nehemiah and his associates back under the old covenant.

‘First the natural and then the spiritual’ is a principle whereby the Lord teaches us in more detail what He desires us to experience. Let us briefly look at these gates of the restored city — twelve in number declaring that this preparation is for those who will rule (=12) with Him. These gates are the experiences that await us as a solid and necessary foundation of our daily walk in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We must first enter the ‘Sheep Gate’ and progress through all of these gates until we are truly His prisoner. Just like Paul, who at the end of his life, called himself, ‘a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ’. This is the marvellous vision or target that God has for us . . . to become His prisoner and as such, we will no longer move out of our own thinking, but will fully move out of His thinking that is in us after we are born again.

Let us begin our journey through these twelve experiences . . . all found in the book of Nehemiah. They each contain many areas where God checks up on us. . . not that He doesn’t know our situation, but rather that we find out what He knows about us!

These experiences that God desires for us to partake of in our lives do not have to be seen in the order of the references . . . some will definitely form an order . . . the ‘Sheep Gate’ must come first etc.

THE SHEEP GATE (01) Neh.3:1. Sheep not led by Someone with greater wisdom than themselves, will stray. We were as sheep without a shepherd, but now the Lord Jesus Christ is our Shepherd and He has opened this gate at Calvary for whomsoever to come into Him. God’s mercy and Grace through His shed Blood will lead us to know conviction, repentance and forgiveness because of being born from above. We will become not only ‘believers’ but ‘believing believers’. . .believing what God says about Himself and what He says about us. Assurance of salvation and the ‘cross’ principle will be evident in our lives. We will no longer be under the demands of the LAW because we’ve been redeemed from its demands, so that we can be saved byHis life (within His blood) in every area of our lives. Jesus said, ‘My sheep hear My voice and the they follow Me’. HEAR His voice!!! Help us all, Lord, to hear your still small voice within.

THE FISH GATE (02) Neh.3:3. ‘Fish’ has two aspects in the Word: food which is given for us to grow; people with a special calling (i.e. the 153 fish: 153 -n bible numbers = the sons-of-God of John 21).We all have the ability to become ‘fishers of men’. Items included in this gate’s requirements, are how to feed on the Lord Jesus, faith, the fear of the Lord and witnessing . . . all of which flow readily from us as we praise and worship Him . . . not just in meetings, but as our daily lifestyle.

THE OLD GATE (03) Neh.3:6. There are many ‘old’ things that should pass away — however, there are ‘old’ foundations and patterns that have not changed and need reviving and rebuilding. God does not change but He does vary the way we receive dealings from Him. Check-up points at this gate will ensure we have our foundations laid correctly because there are many who do not have straight foundations. Have you received revelation of ‘old’ testament types and shadows with particular emphasis on ‘the Tabernacle in the wilderness’ pattern and the 3 ‘Feasts of the Lord’ pattern? These will help with the putting off of the ‘old’ man and his ‘old’ letter-word traditions and the putting on of the new.

THE VALLEY GATE (04) Neh.3:13. The ‘valley’ is the place where your growing occurs which is brought about by the processings of God. . . changing experiences, not just increased knowledge. It takes two mountains to form one valley. . . two witnessing circumstances. When one grows, one changes. Can you pinpoint where you have been ‘Growing up into Him recently’ — yes, into the Lord Jesus Christ? Such growth stems out of one’s relationship with Father via one’s devotional and prayer times. The nine fruit of the Spirit will be seen coming forth more and more in ones walk and talk. This is an expression of the glory of God. It is all by Christ Who, being in you, is the hope of such glory and more. This, like all of the gates, requires a full yielding to the Lordship of the Spirit within.

THE DUNG GATE (05) Neh.3:14. The removal of all the waste and unwanted material from Jerusalem (Church). Dung is all that is left over from yesterday’s ‘manna’. . . yesterday’s spiritual food. When law starts to replace grace, law becomes dung. Just how do you counsel others? It is by the removing of the seven giants in the land (us) (Deut.7). . . they are pride, fear, stubbornness, rebellion, religiosity, lust and bitterness. These all produce ‘dung’. Water baptism too is the picture of burying the dead along with religious words & methods before they stink! The dunghill also represents the incorrect image that a people can have of themselves and even of God Himself. So what is your God really like?

THE GATE OF THE FOUNTAIN (06) Neh.3:15. Water speaks of the anointed word. A ‘well of water springing up into everlasting life’ (our conversion): ‘out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water’ (our baptism in the Holy Spirit). These experiences included here, echo life with a capital ‘L’. . . His life which is to be lived to the full by His grace! The baptism in the Holy Spirit, so essential for sustained progress: yes, it includes speaking in tongues (the Bible has about 17 reasons why God wants us to experience this), the nine gifts of the Spirit (I Cor.12), the nine ministries of the Spirit (I Cor 14 - at the end), as well as the anointing and praying in the spirit. This Gate checks up on your moving and progress in the Spirit of God to the point where He will be fully ‘Lord’. Alas, this particular check-up is so often treated lightly.

THE WATER GATE (07) Nem.3:26. Water is the undergirding of the ‘well’ and ‘river’ experiences of the fountain gate. We are washed (= our thinking renewed) by the water of the word (Eph.5:26). This gate will challenge us to really believe and trust in the authority of the scriptures. It will lead straight into becoming thrilled with what God has spoken and what He is speaking. Have you allowed the Lord to show you how to read the scriptures and how to study the word? Do you know the origin and purpose of the word? What about the patterns, the timings, the meanings of numbers, colours, materials etc. Just checking up because so many are ill-equipped for passing through this gate.!

THE HORSE GATE (08) Neh.3:28. ‘horse’ in the word speaks of discipline, speed and endurance. It also pictures to us of strength and one who is feeding at every opportunity. To have these expressions of the horse gate will require personal discipline . . . being ‘broken’ before the Lord. From such a relationship, the will of God will become more apparent. Likewise one will get to know Who God is via His names ( His nature is declared in His names) and how one’s calling is only found in God. Have you identified with the High Priest pattern, which can give you more understanding of God’s ways with us?

THE EAST GATE (09) Neh.3:29. ‘East’ speaks of a new day, expressing new things of His plan of the ages. Understanding God’s Genesis ‘re-creation’ week as His ‘contents page’ of the Word which will release God’s full vision for us which breaks down into ‘the long vision’, ‘the short vision’ and ‘the walking vision’. Judgments of God are seen as He deals with the old-Adam thinking so that He might bring forth new wine, new song and reveal our ‘new name’. We are in a new covenant with God who has purposed to bring us through into His image and likeness.

THE GATE MIPHKAD (10) Neh.3:31. Miphkad means ‘assignment, appointment or numbering’ and will outline for us our progressive targets. This gate will check up on what we are saved for? What is our calling? Do you realize that we have been called/appointed to be overcomers? They are the ones who, by His grace, have overcome and are overcoming persecution and opposition (within and without). A specific overcoming area is ‘antichrist’ which simply means from the Greek word, anything that is INSTEAD OF CHRIST. . . in you . . in your Church. The Joseph and Benjamin parables outline these callings. Those in the ministry must attain to the full qualifications shown in Leviticus 21 and, of course, each needs to have on the WHOLE armour of God (Eph. 6 armour of God). No wonder the labourers are few for they are still in their apprenticeship.

THE GATE OF EPHRAIM (11) Neh.8:16. Ephraim means ‘double fruit’ and speaks of the first-born company who receive the ‘double portion’ as Elisha did. Ephraim also relates to the Kingdom of God’s fullness. Expressions of God will include knowing the seedtime and harvest seasons. The Kingdom of God, which operates from His throne in us, will become quite clear to us. . . heaven, earth and sea will be unveiled to us as three levels of people in the Lord. Do you have the adoption and the first-born challenge and checkup? Are you expecting to receive the double portion and be a part of the elect and chosen so that you will come alive as to the full provision of the cross. When doubly-blessed, predestination and the foreknowledge of God will become very real to you . . . which in turn will lead you to eventually experiencing transfiguration.

THE PRISON GATE (12) Neh.12:39. This last gate will be like an examination at the end of the course. This check-up will look deep inside of you to see if your ultimate desire is to become the prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ with no will of your own, only His thinking, word and will. It pictures for you the full occupation of ‘our wilderness thinking’ by the mind of Christ. This epitome of God’s dealings is also pictured for you with the Joseph parable and the two trees of the garden of Eden. This final gate challenges you to enter into His rest . . . the fulfilment of His covenant & commitment. Remember, a prisoner has a broken and a contrite heart — essential for maturing through this gate. It brings liberty and ultimately to experience jubilee which is becoming the perfected visible expression of the Almighty invisible God in the earth. What a triumphant conclusion to God’s plan.

This look at all these twelve gates of Jerusalem just touch on the headlines of God’s dealings in us and through us. There are many variations as He processes us from glory to glory until we all come into His image and likeness which was God’s original plan which has never changed or added to. Become His City . . . His Bride by allowing Him to work His life out of you as He takes you through all of these gates . . . and probably lots more too! We have been equipped to make it to perfection and maturity. Praise the Lord.§

Kingdom Nugget No.41