Building Houses and Guarding Cities

Pastor Keith Hassell

Foundation Scripture: Psalm 127

I. The focus of this Psalm is two-fold:

A. Houses---God builds houses

B. Cities---God watches over cities

C. Jesus said: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.”(Matthew 12:25)

II. Building Houses

A. Who is building your house?

B. God is a builder.

1. “House” is a spiritual metaphor for a family.

2. The “house of Joseph” and the “house of David” for example.

3. “House” refers to God’s seed-line, His generation, and His family.

4. God is still in the house-building business.

C. Three ways that God builds.

1. God builds revelationally.

a. Matthew 16:18 “Upon this rock, I will build My church.” God builds His house through the revelation of who Christ is.

2. God builds relationally.

a. God builds His house by putting us into godly relationships with others in His family.

b. The Body is built as each member is properly “jointed” where the Lord has determined them to be connected.

c. Personal destiny arises out of family relationships. Nothing should be allowed to destroy these relationships. “What God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:6 NKJV)

3. God builds generationally.

a. God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

b. God is looking for fathers who think trans-generational. The generation that does not think long range is the “terminal generation.”

c. The Hebrew word for “son” (Ben) and for daughter (Bath) are derived from the same Hebrew root (Banah-baw-naw) which means: “to build, obtain children, make, repair, set up”

d. How does God build the house? Psalm 127:3“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward.”

e. Abram wanted Eleazar, his servant, to be the heir to his house, but God said that He would give Abram a son as an heir.

f. Moses was faithful in God’s house as a servant, but Christ was faithful in His house as a Son.

g. Although both servants and sons serve in the Father’s house, the difference is one of relationship, attitude, and motive.

h. God is building His house today not with servants but with sons.

i. God will raise up heirs and not hirelings to govern His flock (John 10:11-18)

j. Do you think like a servant or like a son in the house? Are you a hireling or an heir?

IV. Guarding Cities

A. Who is guarding our cities?

1. Drug dealers, X-rated videos, alcohol, gambling, etc. has come in

B. It is the second generation that contends with the enemies in the gates.

1. Houses have doors but cities have gates

3. Fathers built sons before they become warriors in the gates of the city.

4. Sons are raised in the house but contend for the city.

5. Matthew 11:19 “But wisdom is justified by her children.”

C. Houses have doors but cities have gates

1. Psalm 24:7 “Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.”

2. Fathers exercise authority over what comes through the doors of his house.

3. Elders exercise authority over what comes through the gates of the cities.

a. Elders judged in the gates by day while watchmen watched the gates by night

b. Gates are strategic and governmental

c. Gates guard the entrance to God’s glory

D. Contending in the gates

1. “Gates of Agreement”

a. Gates are places where fathers agree on what comes into the city and what does not come into the city

b. Conspiracy in the gates of our cities---they take counsel together against the Lord and His Christ (Psalm 2)

c. Let’s destroy conspiracy with determined covenants of agreement to stand with Christ and His delegated authority.

1) Matthew 18:19-20 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

2. Elements of betrayal in the gates

a. Betrayal of covenant or breaking of a treaty

b. The overthrow of a legitimate heir or ruling authority

c. Plotting to control the wealth of the city

d. Putting down the rights of the righteous

e. Scheming to take advantage of the weak or using power to oppress the poor

3. Conspiracy may operate on three primary levels

a. Founding fathers (wicked agreements or covenants when establishing the city)

b. Shadow Governments

c. Religious (denominationalism, witchcraft)

d. Business (organized crime, Masonic Lodge)

c) Political (one party rule)

d) Communications (biased media)

4. Evil gates of agreement must be discerned, repented of, and dissolved

a. Spiritual Mapping

b. Vicarious repentance (Daniel 9)

5. We must pray in agreement to form new godly covenants of agreement

a. Spiritual authority comes in the realm of agreement.

b. The authority we need to possess the gates of our cities will never be realized until we can pray together in unity

1) Believers praying with other believers

2. Pastors praying with other pastors

3) Churches praying together with other churches

4) Believers praying with city leaders

5) City leaders praying with city leaders

c. Where do we start?

1) Homes

2) Cell groups

3) Neighborhoods

4) Praying for leaders (gatekeepers)

5) Pray for God to raise up apostles over our cities

a) Pastors lead churches

b) Apostles storm the gates of cities

c) Pray that God will raise up prophets who will point out the apostles who will restore God’s order in the city

V. Invitation

A. Who is building your house?

B. Who is guarding your city?