Mind the Gate: A Sermon by Rev. Jerry Orhue

In ancient cities, gates were not decoration. They were strategic points of control. Whoever controlled the gate controlled the city. The gate determined what entered, what stayed, and what was rejected. If the gate was weak, the city was vulnerable. If the gate was guarded, the city was protected.

Your mind is a gate. Your eyes are gates. Your ears are gates. Your heart is a gate (Proverbs 4:23, Psalm 101:3). When your thoughts are unguarded, your gates are open. When you consume anything without discernment, your gates are open. When you allow every opinion, every voice, every trend, every relationship to enter freely, your gates are open. And whatever enters repeatedly will eventually rule. A gate is an access point. Doors take you somewhere new but gates decide what is allowed in and out.

If fear keeps entering, fear will eventually rule. If lust keeps entering, lust will eventually rule. If bitterness keeps entering, bitterness will eventually rule. If negative self talk keeps entering, it will eventually define how you see yourself. Many people are fighting spiritual battles at the door level while ignoring the gate level. They pray for breakthrough, but they constantly allow doubt to enter. They ask for peace, but they entertain chaos through what they watch and listen to. They desire purpose, but they repeatedly feed distraction.

An open door without guarded gates is dangerous. You may step into opportunity, but sabotage it from within. If God opens a door of leadership, but your mind is filled with insecurity, insecurity will rule that space. If God opens a door of influence, but pride has entered unchecked, pride will damage what favour built. If God opens a door of marriage, but unresolved trauma is ruling your thoughts, that trauma will speak louder than love.

Gates must be guarded before doors are opened. Guarding your gates does not mean living in fear. It means living with awareness. It means being intentional about what you allow to enter your mind and heart. It means questioning repeated patterns. It means rejecting what weakens your discipline. It means protecting your peace. Access determines authority. Whatever you keep giving access to is slowly gaining authority over you.

So before you ask God for open doors, ask yourself a deeper question. Who is standing at the gates of my mind. What voices am I allowing in. What habits am I entertaining. What thoughts am I rehearsing daily. Because life is not only shaped by opportunities. It is shaped by what you permit to rule inside you. – www.gracevinechapel.org

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