Building a House of Worship – The Gates

Building a House of Worship 3

The Gates

Scripture: Isaiah 60:1-21

“Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you...And His glory will be seen upon you...And I will glorify the house of My glory...because He has glorified you...I will make the place of my feet glorious...And your God your glory...That I may be glorified” (v. 1, 2, 7, 9, 13, 19, 21).

Isaiah is prophesying about a Temple that will surpass the glory of Solomon’s Temple, namely Jesus Christ: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14). Paul says that God has given us “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). Jesus was the incarnation of the glory of God. He came to display the glory of God to mankind. He died and rose again and poured out his Spirit on the church, His body (Eph. 1:22- 23).

Within the global body there are local bodies, and these local bodies are called to worship and understand the Father – to worship in spirit and in truth (Jn. 4:23-24). This worship provides a place for God to display His glory, and even to glorify them, meaning He is bringing the true fullness of what He has ordained for them under the power of redemption, to cause them to come to their highest realization of fulfillment in the purpose of God. As God filled the Tabernacle, as He filled the Temple, as He filled the person of Jesus Christ, so He wants to fill the church, and thereby fill each one of us.

We have talked about the foundation of the house of worship and also the walls. The dimension of the foundation of worship grows deeper because of the deepening of life in walking with Jesus, walking in the truth of what Christ has done (the Blood) and what God has said (the Word). The walls continue to be built and provide salvation, stability, security, and a context for restoration – God’s redemption that amazingly creates something new that was better than before. Now we want to look at the gates, that aspect of worship which turns outward. “...But you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise” (v. 18). The gates have to do with authority and advance.

1. Authority – The spirit of praise is a dynamic means for executing the authority of the living church.

a. Psalm 149 – The context of this message is Israel expanding and pushing back Gentile oppressors with the “high praises of God in their mouth.” Today, the battle is spiritual, but the principle is still the same: God’s people push back the darkness when they praise Him. Jesus has “disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it,” says Colossians 2:14, and this power is activated when the people of God praise Him.

b. God’s desire is not only for a people who are firm on the foundation of the Word and the Blood, who are not only secure as the walls are being built up, but also a people who go in and out through the gates of praise to scatter the works of darkness. Praise is an instrument of intercession, it is the posture for movement in battle against darkness, against anything that would try to hinder or obstruct the kingdom of God and righteousness.

2. Advance – Through praise, the church advances against the realm of darkness.

a. Gates had a number of different functions in the ancient world:

i. Center of justice (2 Ki. 11:4-19)

ii. Court of record (Ruth 4:1)

iii. Council of war (2 Sam. 18:24)

iv. Center for social contact (2 Sam. 19:8)

v. Place of appeal for help (Prov. 8:3, Acts 3:1) vi. Place of determination (Neh. 13:21-22)

b. Matthew 16:16-19 – Jesus talks about gates. The church advances on and overcomes the gates of Hell (those things which twist and divide and destroy in homes, families, communities, cities, nations) through the gates of praise. “One of you routes a thousand” (Deut. 32:30, Lev. 26:8, Josh. 23:10). Understand the power of concentrated and targeted praise. When God’s people praise like this, the house of worship becomes a base deploying weapons of righteousness, reversing the works of Hell (see Acts 13).

Conclusion

The Lord calls his people not only to rest within the walls of salvation, but to also go in and out through the gates of focused praise and to thereby scatter the works of darkness and advance the kingdom of God.