“The Ephraim Gate Message 4”
The Spiritual Application of the Gates
Notes from Thompson Chain Reference Bible; Tim LaHaye Prophecy Study Bible; Monte Brown’s personal translation (MB)
Nehemiah 8:16 Monte T. Brown
August 17, 2014 Sunday Evening
Stapp Zoe Baptist
Prelude
“The Ephraim Gate” was so named because of the tribe of Ephraim.
This is a wonderful gate the word Ephraim means ‘double fruit.’
God wanted Ephraim not only to be fruitful, but to be doubly fruitful.
While the enemy of our souls comes to “rob, kill, and destroy”, God has a totally opposite agenda.
He delights in fruitfulness and increase.
“The Ephraim Gate” is associated with the Feast of Tabernacles, which is God’s pattern for the last day harvest.
As we learn of the fruitfulness in our lives as believers, we want to go back to Nehemiah 8:13-16 and read what information we can find about the Ephraim Gate.
Scripture
13And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law.
14And they found written in the law which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month:
15And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.
16So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim. Nehemiah 8:13-16
Prayer
Introduction
Our God delights to see fruitfulness in our lives. It is His desire that our fruitfulness would abound.
Our journey as believers is symbolized in our journey as we are in bondage to sin, to the Gate of Ephraim, which symbolizes abundant fruit.
As we walk in freedom we will bear fruit for His glory.
Here we have a gate with a name of a person or tribe.
The meaning of the word ‘Ephraim’ is double-fruit and speaks of the first-born who receive a double portion of the inheritance as Elisha did via Elijah.
Joseph of old was Ephraim’s father and his life depicted the double portion experience for he was the firstborn of Jacob and Rachel.
Joseph had the promise and went through all the processing’s to see the vision fulfilled.
The double-portion is given to the firstborn at the time they are adopted of the Father.
What glorious provision has been given to us via the cross!
Fruitfulness Requires Alertness
Remember that the weakest point in the wall of Jerusalem was between “The Corner Gate” and
There is a lot of true in that statement. Satan always attacks just before we reach “The Ephraim Gate.”
The devils success in the battle against us depends upon OUR IGNORANCE of the WORD of God.
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? 2 Corinthians 13:5
We base our life upon what we believe, that is what faith is.
We do the things that we do because of what we believe.
Paul tells us to look at ourselves, to Test yourselves, to see if you are holding on to what you believe and are not a CAST-A-WAY.
We need to put ourselves to the test and judge ourselves, to find out whether we are living in faith.
Standing Strong in Life
You must be born again and GROWING.
Fruitfulness means Christ in you.
What does it mean to have Christ in you? Peace
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Colossians 3:15
The Peace of God is a marker of Christianity.
The test of Christ in you is Peace should rule in your heart.
Peace should rule as an umpire in your heart.
Peace is not the absent of conflict but is the way that you respond to the conflict.
We live in a World of stress and they say that we as a nation consumes 15 tons of aspirin EVERY DAY.
Tranquilizers sales are at an all time high, peace of mind books are on the best sellers list God is the maker of peace.
For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. 1 Corinthians 14:33
It is the devils business to keep you confused and disturbed in your Spirit.
Many people have an unsettled Spirit in them; they wander from Church to Church, from revival to revival, from job to job, from fad to fad looking for that perfect peace.
The only real peace comes from being in Christ.
Perspective
The way we look at the situation determines fruitfulness or frustration.
When you are tired and worn out it is easy to think God has forgotten about you and the bad things you are going through.
It’s not easy to focus on God when problems keep piling up.
Look at a scripture where David lost perspective.
How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? forever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? Psalm 13:1
When we begin to focus on ourselves we will not be fruitful.
It is easy to fall into the habit of saying “WHAT ABOUT ME? WHAT ABOUT ME? WHAT ABOUT ME?”
We know that we are limited in the things that we can do, but we try to handle them ourselves.
We will always fail when we trust our strength, our understanding, and our power.
Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. Isaiah 40:28
God does not cave in, get tired and he knows all things.
We must change our thinking and get the right perspective and realize God has it in control.
Paul prayed that we could understand that we serve an awesome God.
May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:18-19
This is where we get a new perspective of who God is and what it means to be in Christ so that we can be fruitful.
Purpose
As Christians we must have a purpose in living.
Jesus had a purpose in living.
We must live our lives to serve others, encourage others, lift up others, doing good for others.
If our purpose is to serve others, then we are in Christ.
We are fruitful doing the Word standing in the storms.
I know this is not a popular message.
When I look at the sower the results of the sowing we find 75% of the people do not produce fruit.
It is only those that are in Christ that produces fruit.
But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.Matthew 13:23
That is the kind of fruitfulness that will bless you and all those around you.
“The Ephraim Gate” should remind us that we are not just another person, but someone that has been doubly blessed.
Conclusion/Invitation
Can we say with confidence that we are fruitful for the Lord?
Remember we are doubly blessed and God desires that we bless others in our life.
