Pastor Friday Jeremiah of United Evangelical Church Samaru, Zaria has attributed the progress or downfall of every individual to the nature of the gates that admit or bar them from their places of nativity, habitation and endeavour. He made this known in Chapel of Redemption, Ahmadu Bello University, Samaru Zaria, venue of Day 3 of 2022 Universal Week of Prayer and Fasting of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Sabon Gari Chapter.
The speaker built his message on the topic ‘Lift Up Your Heads Oh You Gates (Ps. 24:7-10)’ and intimated that gates are controlled by guards and principalities which may be physical or spiritual in nature.
“A gate is the entrance to every building which permits or minimizes the movement of people in and out of the building,” he clarified.
“There is no gate without a guide and guards influence those who dwell in the building positively or negatively. What happens in the Church is determined by the men at the gate; matters of a nation are settled at the gates. Whatever happens in a city affects the dwellers positively or negatively. Most of what happens in our lives is as a result of the city we come from or where we live in.
“Every person has five gates. Your ears, eyes, nose, skin and mouth are the five gates you have and your positions in life cannot be secured if your gates are not properly manned. Gates of poverty, near success syndrome, stagnation and their siblings must be dethroned also before your positions can be secured,
“The first thing to do before a gate is to knock at the gate, (Mt.7:7-8); open it if you have the key; look for the man who holds the key to open it, if you don’t have the key; if you cannot find him, force the gate open. Be violent to open the gate. In case you don’t have the power to force the gate open, you need not be afraid because the Lord the Mighty in battle does not need man’s approval to open such gate. Call on Him and He will open the gate for you.
“Our joy is that we know the One who holds the key of David (Rev. 3:7-8). You will not be afraid of that demon if you know the Lord who is backing you. He is the King of Glory and He is coming with victory and success. You only need to open the gates of your hearts to Him and when He comes in He will introduce Himself to you.”
He listed locations of where gates are found as nations (1Sam. 17), Goliath confronted the Israelites’; towns (2 Kg. 7:1-11), Samaria was locked and the people started eating their children; cities (2 kg. 9:19-22), The city of Jericho was not prospering; palaces (Esth. 5:30), Mordecai sat at the king’s gate; Churches (Acts 3:2), A man laid daily at the Beautiful Gate. Other itemized locations included institutions, and places of work and business. The minister then leaned on Mt.16:18 in declaring that no gates of hell shall prevail against the Church, her members and their loved ones.
Leading the praying session at the event, Pastor Hakila S. Darmah of The United Church of Christ in Nigeria, Samaru lamented that the Church which ought to be a place of sanity, love and forgiveness has been turned into something else especially by pastors who impose laws that restrict members from coming into the House of God and which have also brought division in the Body of Christ.
His words, “Hannah recognized the gates that were confronting her so she decided not to eat at Shiloh. She went and prayed unto the Lord and Eli tried to restrict her. “You are in your last Shiloh like Hannah and you must do away with that gate tonight and open your hearts to God tonight,” he said.
“There is a problem if the people in the bar can understand the language there and we in the Church cannot understand the language of the Church. Pastors have shut people out of the Church. Gates of manmade rules have shut the Body of Christ from coming together. There will be a massive turmoil this year and people will run to the Church. We need to sanctify the Church for them. They need to run to a place where they can be accepted and loved.”
He then led the congregation to pray that the Church be restored and become a solution ground for troubled souls; the knees of every enemy of the Gospel bow to God in repentance and that Christians may understand and use the language of the Kingdom adequately and appropriately.
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Olivia Ojijiaku