Gates – Part 4

Come Out Of Your Yesterday

The day the gates over your life begin to open; you step out of your past. So many of God’s people are living in past glories. It is required of you every year to advance

, grow and expand in knowledge, character, physical assets, spiritual endowments, as well as in your calling, gifting and ministry, among others.

If you are what or where you were five years ago, you are delaying God’s written prophecy over your life. Every year, month, week and day that passes beckons on you to activate your written prophecies, to open another gate. How long will you remain redundant, marking time, whiling away your days? Meanwhile, the whole of creation is awaiting your arrival. Your community, your generation, your family are all awaiting you.

Learn to live for two days only, your today and your tomorrow. May the statement: “Ah! Those were the good old days” never be part of your speech. That is the language of men that are still living in, searching for and reaching back into their past; men that have been languish­ing outside the gates of advancement and progress for years.

Jacob was a man who wrestled with a nega­tive parental curse. His father named him Jacob, meaning conman or trickster. But a day came in his life, when he resolved that he’s had enough. He got alone with God, and settled the mat­ter once and for all. He wrestled all night. Fi­nally, the gates of Heaven opened and an Angel came down. He overcame the Angel and the written prophecy over his life came forth. “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men…” – Genesis 32 v 28

What is the written prophecy over your life and what are you doing to activate it? What is hin­dering you from passing through your gates to your next phase of life? In Acts 3, we read of a man that sat outside the beautiful gate for forty years.

Beyond those beautiful gates were a beautiful temple with beautiful architecture, a beautiful atmo­sphere and beautiful worship services. But he could not get beyond those gates into the realm of beauty. He was excluded, excommunicated and exempted. Why? He was crippled from birth. He got through the first gate of his life quite alright. But after that, he found himself unable to walk. The years passed until he reached forty. Many others who were born after him had no problem with movement, but he remained at that gate as his life wasted away. Once you get stuck at a gate, people who were behind will overtake you.

Lazarus sat outside the rich man’s gate for years. What kept him outside? While others went in, he was outside. Men of means and distinc­tion went in. Many people fight to enter the gate to Government House but they cannot. While they stand at the gate, commissioners, rich men and big officials go in. Something kept Lazarus from overcoming that evil called poverty. For every gate to be opened in your life, there is something you must overcome. May you receive power right now to overcome your next gate and move forward in Jesus Name. Amen.

In the life of Christ, prophecies concerning His life were already written of Him ever before he was born. Hebrews 10 v 17 But for Him to fulfil the prophecies, there were three major gates He had to open.

The first major gate was opened at the river Jor­dan. While He was praying, the gate of Heaven burst open. This opened the way for His full ­time ministry to begin. “…it came to pass that Jesus also being baptized and praying, The HEAVEN was opened.” – Luke 3 v 21

The next major gate Christ had to open to fulfil the prophecies written of Him was the gate into the Holy of Holies. This tore open when He went to the cross and cried ‘it is finished.’ “Jesus…yielded up the ghost…the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom…” – Matthew 27 v 50 & 51. This signified that man could go direct to God. Jesus opened that gate in fulfilment of prophecy written.

The third gate Jesus had to open was the gate of Hades. From the cross, His Spirit went down into Hades to collect the keys of Death and Ha­des. At the entrance of those gates, these Words were uttered: “Lift up your heads, 0 ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in” – Psalm 24 v 7. Thereafter, He destroyed principalities and powers, made an open show of them and then led captivity captive. This was the grand finale of Christ’s earthly ministry. He rose again and sat at the right hand of the Fa­ther. Mission accomplished.

Beloved, may you likewise succeed to open all the necessary gates to fulfil the prophecies written of you. This is a task that must be done!
Rev. Theodore Effiong, Assemblies of God Church, Calabar or Prayer To All Nations (PTAN), Prayer City, Calabar. CRS
Email: theoeffiong@yahoo.com
Phone – +234 9030012007, +234 7031921770