Pentecostal Tabernacle » Nothing Happens Until the Gates Open!

Listen to the sermon: Nothing Happens Until the Gates Open!

by Pastor Brian C. Greene

Scripture: Psalm 24:1-7 (KJV)

David asks the question, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?” in verse three (3). My question was, “Why do I need to get into the hill of the Lord?” until I remembered Psalm 121:1 & 2. These verses tell us that it is in the hill of the Lord that we find the help, aid, and support of the Lord.

So now that I realize that God’s help for me is located in the hill(s), I need to find the answer to the question of who’s allowed to go into that hill. Of course, the answer is found in the verse four (4): The person with clean hands and a pure heart.

1 Timothy 2:8 tells us about our clean hands. One hand needs to have no wrath (malice; see Psalm 66:18) and the other hand needs to have no doubt (lack of faith; see Hebrews 11:6). Notice: “Wrath” deals with our horizontal relationship with people and “Doubt” deal with our vertical relationship with God. We cannot ascend into the Hill of Help (see Hebrews 4:16, Throne of Grace) from God without THE CROSS!

Verse five (5) tells us that the person who’s allowed to ascend the Hill of Help from the Lord is the one who will receive the blessing (favor) from the Lord. Favor means “help, aid, support, backing, preferential treatment.”

Although the King James Version states “This is the generation that…seek thy face of Jacob” in verse six (6), a clearer interpretation is found in the New Living Translation of the Bible. The NLT ends with the phrase, “O God of Jacob” as opposed to, “O Jacob.” We are not seeking Jacob! We are seeking Jacob’s God. Another question may be: Why are we seeking the God of Jacob, as opposed to the God of Abraham (Jacob’s grandfather) or the God Israel (Jacob’s new name)?

The answer: It was Jacob to whom God revealed “The gate(s) of Heaven” (Genesis 28:17).

A clearer interpretation of verse seven (7) is found in the New Living Translation which says, “Open up, ancient gates! Open up, ancient doors, and let the King of Glory enter.”

There’s a note in the Life Application Bible which beautifully explains verse 7.

“This psalm, often set to music, was probably used in corporate worship. It may have been re-enacted many times at The Temple. The people outside would call out to the Temple Gates to open up and let the King of Glory in. From the inside, the priests…would ask, “Who is this King of Glory?”

Outside, the people would respond in unison, “The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in Battle,” proclaiming His great power and strength. The exchange was then repeated (see verses 24:9, 10), and the Temple Gates would swing open, symbolizing the people’s desire to have God’s presence among them. This would have been an important lesson for the children who were participating.”

Here’s an interesting question! How does one open a gate? Answer? In this case, the people had to “push” the gates open because the temple gates opened toward the inside. If we are going to open The Gate of Heaven which takes us from our natural, physical realm into God’s super (beyond) natural, spiritual realm, then we are going to have to learn to push.

Application: How do I push open the gates of heaven in a practical manner?

The term “PUSH” means that we must Pray Until Something Happens (Luke 18:1-8). Our prayers are a way of pushing open the gate of heaven so that God can enter into our circumstances. In Luke chapter 18, God is not comparing himself to the unjust (unfair) judge. God is using the unjust judge as a contrast. He in effect is saying, “If an unjust judge is willing to alleviate the adverse circumstances of a helpless person, how much more is your heavenly father willing to help (not a helpless stranger, but) HIS OWN CHILD who calls to Him for help day and night in prayer?”

So let us do what the Apostle Paul requests for us to do in 1 Timothy 2:8. Let’s push the gate of heaven with hands of prayer. But remember, use hands not filled with malice toward anyone and hands that do not doubt God’s willingness or ability to respond. Yes, it takes faith to keep pushing the gate in prayer until it opens enough for God to enter, but His entrance into our circumstances will be worth the effort we’ve put forth in prayer.