342. Authority
The wall is
finished, but what about the gates?
Chapter 6 of
Nehemiah takes place when the walls are finished but the gates are not yet
rebuilt. The primary emphasis in
this chapter is how the enemy, Sanballat in their case, or Satan and his army
in our case, goes to extreme means to come against rebuilding our gates, or our
authority.
Gates
represent authority.
Gates always
stand for authority. In Eden,
after the fall of man, angels guarded the gates to the Tree of Life. Authority infers “right” to
something. It is like the keys to
the Kingdom of Heaven. In
Revelation chapter 21 there is a picture of twelve gates through which only the
righteous enter in. They drink of
the stream and eat of the Tree of Life.
This is the reversal of the curse back in Genesis when the gates to the
Tree of Life were closed to man.
In Hebrew Scripture and history, gates represented much more than
a door that swung on hinges. They
were the place of commerce and government of the culture. They had rooms and offices. It would be like combining city hall
and the major office building in a major city.
In Genesis chapter 23 Abraham was seeking to purchase a tomb for
Sarah. He went to the gates of the
city to make the deal (Genesis 23:10, 18). In Ruth chapter 4 Boaz goes to the gate of the city in order
to confirm his right to marry Ruth.
It was like a civil court proceeding. This depicted the right of entry and authority.
Nehemiah’s people were going between home and work by going back
and forth through the breaches in the wall. However, under the best of circumstances we are supposed to
go through the gates, those areas of authority. The Lord defended them when they went back and forth through
the broken places in the wall. Now
it was time to use the ordained method of passage, the gates. God has a mission to rebuild authority
in our lives in many ways.
In Nehemiah chapter 3 all the gates are listed and named; there
are10 gates. Ten stands for human
government. Twelve stands for
God’s government, the Kingdom of God.
Here comes the
enemy again.
In previous
chapters Nehemiah and his people sustained the words of the enemy, overcame the
weariness caused by the enemy, now we see the wiles of the enemy. He often uses fear as he did in this
case. The entire Kingdom of God is
based upon authority. Everything
God does has authority as an underlying principle. That is why Satan is so intent upon attacking proper
authority. Many believers do not
walk in overcoming power because they do not understand authority and its
multi-faceted aspects.
Nehemiah 6:1-9 says, “Now it happened when Sanballat, Tobiah,
Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall,
and that there were no
breaks left in it (though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates),
that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, ‘Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain
of Ono.’ But they thought to do me
harm. So I sent messengers to
them, saying, ‘I am
doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while
I leave it and go down to you?’
But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the
same manner.
Then Sanballat sent his servant to me as before, the fifth time,
with an open letter in his hand.
In it was
written: It is reported among the nations, and Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel;
therefore, according to these rumors, you are rebuilding the wall, that you may
be their king. And you have also
appointed prophets to proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem, saying, ‘There
is a king in Judah!’ Now these matters will be reported to
the king. So come, therefore, and
let us consult together.
Then I sent to him, saying, ‘No such things as you say are being
done, but you invent them in your own heart.’ For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, ‘Their hands will be weakened in
the work, and it will not be done.’
Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.”
The wiles of the enemy are going to come against us. This is when the Holy Spirit gives us
the grace to fight for us when we are weak. However, we must cooperate and give the Holy Spirit the
resources that He needs from us.
What are they? In this
lesson we are going to focus on respect for authority and forgiveness.
Satan sent a letter. Nehemiah
answered.
“So I sent messengers to them, saying, ‘I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come
down. Why should the work cease
while I leave it and go down to you?” (Nehemiah 6:3).
“But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in
the same manner” (Nehemiah 6:4).
Sanballat didn’t give up quickly.
He sent a fifth letter (verse 5-8). In this letter he beseeched Nehemiah to consult with him and
reason with him. Do not let carnal
reasoning get in the way of the Holy Spirit’s voice!
Satan is a liar.
Nehemiah answered as we should, “Then I sent to him, saying, ‘No such things as you say are
being done, but you invent them in your own heart’” (Nehemiah 6:8).
Satan uses people in the church.
He sent secret informers and false prophets to meet Nehemiah in an
attempt to deceive and cause fear.
The Holy Spirit can protect you in this area.
Nehemiah said, “Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all,
but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired
him. For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act
that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me. My God, remember
Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their works, and the prophetess
Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid” (Nehemiah
6:12-14).
My wife and I have had several encounters with such people within
the church community. This is
real!
Why is Satan making all the fuss about authority?
It is because if believers do not understand and respect
authority, God is limited in their lives.
Notice the Centurion in Matthew chapter 8. He stated that he was a man under authority, and had been
entrusted with authority over others.
He told Jesus that he respected the authority of His Word so much that
he would believe whatever Jesus said in order to have his servant healed. Jesus marvelled and called this “Great
faith.” The servant was
healed. The centurion had submitted
his life to all delegated authorities, and he was loving those under his
authority.
This is a big deal to God! I guarantee you that this “law of authority” will work for
and against you!
Authority
applies three ways.
First, we must learn to be under authority.
We submit to God’s authority through the delegated authorities
that God gives us and through the Word and the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul (Saul) obtained a real
vision of authority when he was slain by the light of Jesus on his way to
Damascus.
“As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone
around him from heaven. Then he
fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you
persecuting Me?’ And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ Then the Lord said, ‘I am
Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So he, trembling
and astonished, said, ‘Lord, what do You want me to do?’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and go into the city, and
you will be told what you must do.’
And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but
seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened
he saw no one. But they led him by
the hand and brought him
into Damascus” (Acts 9:3-8).
Notice Saul said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” I pray that the light of the Glorious
Jesus slay you and that you would say the same thing!
Many do not understand delegated authority. God delegates humans to be in authority
here on earth. His power and Kingdom
is so keenly based upon authority that He even honors evil authority, to a
point, of course. We are to
respect and submit to our governmental leaders, our law enforcement servants,
our teachers, parents, bosses at work, our pastors, wives and husbands, and the
list goes on.
When we violate these authorities, we are dishonoring God and
disobeying Him. His response is
not always immediate, but we can see how He feels about it in an exemplary
way. In Numbers chapter 12 Miriam
became leprous when she came against Moses.
Look how the Lord felt when the people murmured against Moses and
Aaron. “And the LORD spoke to
Moses, saying, ‘Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them
in a moment.’ And they fell on
their faces” (Numbers 16:44-45). A
horrible plague followed.
When Korah came against Moses in Numbers chapter 16 the Lord
opened up a hole in the earth and swallowed up Korah and his group. “‘But if the LORD creates a new thing,
and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to
them, and they go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these
men have rejected the LORD.’ Now
it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split
apart under them, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with
their households and all the men with Korah, with all their goods. So they and all those with them went down alive into the
pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly”
(Numbers 16:30-33).
Second, the authority in our soul is restored.
The Holy Spirit wants to rebuild your internal authority. He does not want life, circumstances,
other people, and demonic forces to run over your rubble and through your
broken gates. He wants the Kingdom
of God to be established as your gates so that you can be a whole person, no
longer subject to the penetration of unauthorized attacks. Will attacks come? Yes. However, when your gates are standing, that cannot harm
you. They may hurt, but hurt and
harm are not the same.
Third, we take authority over Satan’s realm.
After restoration, we go out to battle to take the enemies
gates. Now we storm the enemy’s
gates instead of him always storming ours.
We will receive the keys of the Kingdom. When our soul authority is restored and
we submit to proper authorities, we take the gates of the enemy. We are blessed to be a blessing. The gates of Hell will not
prevail. The government is
restored to humans. Not only for
their own souls, but also for all the kingdoms of the earth, as Jesus was
tempted with in Luke 4.
Peter learned about submitting to authority, and the result of
it was the Keys to the Kingdom.
“Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of
the living God’” (Matthew 16:16).
Peter received a supernatural revelation of who Jesus was. He knew to bow his knee to this
Christ!
Jesus replied, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on
this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail
against it. And I will give you
the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound
in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew
16:18-19).
The “rock” was the revelation of who Jesus was, the revealed Word,
and a mere man submitted to Him.
The result is that the gates of Hades cannot prevail against this
package, i.e., a revelation of who Jesus is, and our obedience and submission
to Him.
When our internal gates are restored, when we are submitted to
God’s Word, the voice of the Holy Spirit and God’s delegated authorities, then
we can be used by God to take ground from the kingdom of darkness for the
Kingdom of God.
In Genesis 22 Abraham was promised that the Messiah would posses
the gates of His enemies. “Then
the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said:
“By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and
have not withheld your son, your only son – blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will
multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants
shall possess the gate of their enemies” (Genesis 22:15-17).
God wants His people to represent Him in taking ground from Satan. This can only be done by God’s
anointing, or His power working through us. He will entrust that authority to us when we cooperate with
Him in those practical areas of our lives.
Forgive as you
have been forgiven.
Nehemiah chapter
5 shows another area that the Holy Spirit wants to work on in our lives. It has to do with becoming impoverished
by unforgiveness. The text speaks
about actual debt and property, but the application is definitely spiritual.
The people became their own worst enemies. They became indebted to one another.
“And there was a great outcry of the people and their wives
against their Jewish brethren. For
there were those who said, ‘We, our sons, and our daughters are many; therefore let us get grain, that we
may eat and live.’ There were also some who said, ‘We have mortgaged our lands and vineyards and
houses, that we might buy grain because of the famine’” (Nehemiah 5:1-3).
Forgiveness sets you free. Unforgiveness keeps you in prison.
Unforgiveness gives license to demons to act in your life and to
keep you impoverished in your spirit, soul, body and circumstances.
Most believers are aware of forgiving for major issues, but are
you exacting of others repayment for offenses and misunderstandings?
To forgive does not mean to excuse. The Greek word for forgive means to cut away, as in a
surgery, it even infers death. The
only way for a human to truly forgive is to cut the sin off of the offender and
put it on Jesus. He bore
everybody’s sin that is the only place it can go without harming another
human.
It is not an emotional act, it is an act of faith. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John
1:9).
Receiving forgiveness and forgiving others will make you
free!
“‘Restore now to them, even this day, their lands, their
vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, also a hundredth of the money
and the grain, the new wine and the oil, that you have charged them.’ So they said, ‘We will restore it, and will require nothing from them; we
will do as you say.’ Then I called
the priests, and required an oath from them that they would do according to
this promise. Then I shook out the fold of my garment and said, ‘So may God
shake out each man from his house, and from his property, who does not perform
this promise. Even thus may he be shaken out and emptied.’ And all the assembly said, ‘Amen!’ and
praised the LORD. Then the people
did according to this promise” (Nehemiah 5:11-13).
Larry Chkoreff –
November 2002.
Many
portions of this lesson are taken from the audio tape series by Pastor Jack
Hayford, “Restoring Wholeness to the Personality,” tape 8. Living Way Ministries, Van Nuys, CA.
(800) 776-8180.
However, the author wants to point out that a great deal of the
content herein has been written for a Bible class and does not necessarily
represent the opinion or teachings of Pastor Jack Hayford.
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