Arise, Shine

Chapter Ten

 

OPEN THE GATES

 

If we're going to survive Babylon ... keep our sanity living here in Babylon with its lies and illusions and injustice and corruption, we have to learn how to live also in the New Jerusalem. We have to see it, taste it, experience it ... bringing it into reality even while we live in Babylon. The good news is that the New Jerusalem is not some far off place waiting in some far off future. It's here! It's been here for a long time for those who have eyes to see. For us, Babylon is dying. The New Jerusalem is rising and we're rising with it.

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples;

But the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.

And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

Isaiah 60:1-3

 

Foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you; for in my wrath I smote you, but in my favor I have had mercy on you. Your gates shall be open continually; day and night they shall not be shut; that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations, with their kings led in procession. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; those nations shall be utterly laid waste. The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the cypress, the plane, and the pine, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious. The sons of those who oppressed you shall come, bending low to you; and all who despise you shall bow down at your feet; they shall call you the City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.              Isaiah 60:10-14

The above is a vision of the New Jerusalem in which a three-fold miracle has taken place.

 

    1. It has been visited by the glory of God.

 

    2. It has found peace with itself.

 

    3. The nations of the earth are streaming into it to worship the glory of the Lord.

 

And the sign that this three-fold miracle has taken place in this city is that its gates are never shut. 

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light shall the nations walk; and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it, and its gates shall never be shut by day ­and there shall be no night there; they shall bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.     Revelation 21:22-26

  But how can we know that it's not all just a dream? Where is the evidence that such a city actually exists and that we can see it and enter it and be part of it? Where can we find this city with the open gates where the glory of the Lord has become its continuous light and its joy and its protection and its power… where the nations come streaming in, bringing the best that they have and laying it at the feet of the Messiah in worship? That city of the open gates can be found and entered wherever human beings gather together and open those gates. 

The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. He came to his own home, and his own people received him not.      John 1:9-11

They kept the gates closed they were afraid to open them.

But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.    

John 1:12-13

They opened the gates and the glory of the Lord came into their lives.

 

Many of us have been waiting for God to send revival. For years we've been praying for power, and for vision and for fresh life. And it seemed so often that instead of the thundering waterfall we needed, we got barely a trickle. But now the message that's been coming from the Spirit not only to us, but to believers all over the earth is,

 

"The light you've prayed for has come .....  the glory of the Lord you've prayed for has come....

 

but you have to arise and shine. You have to open the gates so that the glory can come in and go out.

 

From his side, God opened the gates long ago. When Jesus bowed his head and died and suddenly in the temple the heavy, heavy veil that separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy place ripped from top to bottom as if torn by unseen hands, it was a sign that the Lamb had opened the gates of heaven to the human race for the first time since Adam and Eve were driven from the garden. Now the ancient curse is taken away and the glory of God has come down to dwell with men and women.

 

But we also have to open the gates from our side:

 

1.      We have to open the gates to the glory of God .

 

      “Lift up your heads, 0 ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory

       shall come in.”     Psalm 24:7 KJV

 

He can't come in ... he won't come in until we open the gates.

 

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”

              Revelation 3:20

 

  There has to be a deliberate opening of the gates to God…  better known

as worship, repentance. Many people are walking around with their gates closed to the glory of God. That light has come, glory stirs there, but their gates are closed. 0pen the gates!

 

2. We have to open the gates to each other.

 

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:34-35

 

And who are these people who love one another? The ones who have opened up the gates to each other ... truly let each other into their lives in the name of Jesus. Many of us have been walking around with our gates closed to each other. If the glory of the Lord is going to shine forth we have to open the gates to each other.

 

3. Then, we have to open the gates to the harvest of the kingdom ... to that world out there.

 

Foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you; for in my wrath I smote you, but in my favor I have had mercy on you. Your gates shall be open continually; day and night they shall not be shut; that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations, with their kings led in procession.

 

He's talking about multitudes finding their way into the Kingdom of God because we've opened the gates for them, so that at last they have found this true Messiah.

 

And how do we open those gates to God, to each other and to that harvest out there? What, does it mean in practical terms?

 

..... hearts,

 

..... mouth

 

..... hands.

 

First, that we open our hearts to God, to each other, to the harvest .

And one of the scribes came up and heard them dis­puting with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the first of all?" Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, 0 Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that he is one, and there is no other but he; and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."    Mark 12:28-34a

Jesus died on the cross to make this possible.....

 

to love the Lord with all our heart.

 

He sent the Spirit to give us the power....

 

to love the Lord with all our heart, and our neighbor,

 

        --- to take the heart of stone out of us and give us a heart of flesh that opens up wide to God----to each other

 

        --- to those lost sheep who are trying to find the way.

 

"Arise, shine; for your light has come,"

 

..means to open up your heart. You don't have to walk around with a closed, hard, fearful, cynical, negative, sour heart any more. Open up the gates of your heart and let the King of Glory come in and teach you how to love God and how to love your brother, sister, neighbor, enemy;  he will if you open up.

 

Second, to open the gates means that, we open our mouths to God, to each other, and to the work out there .

 

We open up our mouths in worship and offer up a sacrifice of praise to God ... the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Let's open our mouths and worship God. Don't just think it.... say it. The one leper who turned and gave thanks did it with a loud voice.

 

And we open our mouths to each other in words of truth and encouragement. Speak to one another... speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart.... say something!

 

And we open our mouths to the harvest out there with clear words about Jesus. We tell them, with boldness and joy, that Jesus is Lord.

"And I tell you, every one who acknowledges me before men, the Son of man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; but he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God."       Luke 12:8-9

When it comes to telling the world about Jesus, our gates have been

closed ... now we have to open them.

 

Thirdly, to open the gates means that we open our hands to God, to each other to the harvest .

 

Our hands go up to God in worship as a sign that we are presenting our bodies to him ... all we are, all we have. Our hands go out to each other in the act of giving strength to one another... strength from God, help, encouragement, power we wash one another's feet. And our hands go out to the lost sheep as an act of healing and salvation. We give them food, drink, shelter. We take hold of their sick bodies, we reach out through the prison bars.

 

Our light has come. The glory of the Lord has risen upon us. Now we need to open the gates, and when we do, that glory will be seen. The unity of the Spirit will be so real among us we can touch it. And the nations will come to us and find God in our midst.

Foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you; for in my wrath I smote you, but in my favor I have had mercy on you; Your gates shall be open continually; day and night they shall not be shut; that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations, with their kings led in procession.

Arise, shine !

 

Open up your gates so the world can know it!