"Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise…"
– King David, Psalm 100:4 NKJV
Gates are places of traffic of battles. Battles of what goes in and what comes out. So are God’s gates, interfaces between resentments and thanksgiving, resenters and thanksgivers. Gates are places of alertness, therefore. They are where you hold fast to past victories and not lose the winning battle of thanks. Interestingly, God’s gates are continually opened, the more reason they are wardened, by Angels. Which is why we are talking about a place you guard your heart with diligence against ingratitude. Against resentment —that sort of multilayered emotion of disgust, bitter indignation and unthankfulness either in the bliss or heat of times. The tone of ingratitude surely didn’t help the disobedience of Adam and Eve in their shifting blame games when asked why they ate the forbidden fruit. You most likely would know the next bit of the story. Cursed, sacked and barred —Eden’sgate became apparent and sworded. Grumbling and murmuring against Moses was part of what shot the gate of Cannan out on them.
Gates are lines where tolls of battles counts. They are where you brazenly shut out resentments and keep only the flow of thanksgiving through into His presence. And since there are usually two sides to every gate, this is a place of separation of flow, defence of thanksgiving and attack on ingratitude, head on. You perhaps would have noticed the pattern that the path to His gates are narrowed. They are narrowed for arrows to speak at the enemies outside it, so we are not be ashamed at the gates. It is at His gatehouse, we have the leverage of the shooting back outwards at discontentment like one standing on a watchtower. It is here each one need to be focused, shedding off besetting weights that wouldn’t let their arrows through to this narrow path of thanksgiving.
The same way ingratitude would keep anyone outside His gate, there’s no doubts thanksgiving is what leads us into His presence.
His Gates are places of individual soul searching and outbursting of soloists.
Not that the quiet won’t enter, since they are gates and there’s no stampede. But His gates are commonplace for hosanna cryers! It is not a solemn place at all. His thanks, why would anyone keep them inside. So, you are right to call it a place of joyful noise. Here, arrowheads speaks, and loudy so. This explains why you read the warrior King David say, I was glad when they said to me let us go into the house of the Lord. You could almost see how elated he would have been to enter these real gates of tabernacle which only foreshadowed that which was to come! To the extent that if all that he was to do in life was be a gatekeeper of thanksgiving there in the house of the Lord, it was more fulfilling than live in the home of wickedness. See how he described anywhere else outside the gates of thanksgiving.
The same way you find enemies at the gates, there are friends at the gates of thanksgiving, aren’t there two sides to every gate. So, like iron sharpens another iron, here a man sharpens the countenance of His friend. It is at His gates we encourage one another with psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, making melodies, giving thanks always.
“Out of them shall proceed thanksgiving. And the voice of those who make merry; ”
Even the prophet of lamentation in Jeremiah 30:19 wouldn’t miss out at the party entrance that restores Isreal , mark the emphasis on Judah, for we are coming to that shortly.
It seems to me that, on the one hand, with that thanksgiving can be likened to the pointed sharpened head of an arrow in our hands soldiers of Christ, which when brought with, keys us in, and unlocks the narrowed gates of God. And like every arrow has a fletching at the rear, this points outwards at the enemies at the gates, as feathers that marks our crossing into victory.
Even when it seems the victory hasn’t arrived, thanksgiving like a password is what keys us into His presence. We enter His gate with thanksgiving of things He has done, of things that are the Lords doing and things He will do. Because we know He lives in the past, present and the future at the same time and that all things work together for our good for we love Him and are called according to His purpose. That is why our quivers has to be filled with arrows of thanksgiving and not to cut ourselves shot like 2 Kings 13 King Joash that stuck the arrows only there times.
For if the gates are not places of battles, and thanksgiving the weapons of warfare, how were the gates and walls of Jericho sank when Joshua wrote, “Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.” -Josh 6:1.
By the time you have read all way down to verse 20, it was the blast of priestly trumpets with roars of kingly soldiers sounded as arrow of thanksgiving that broke Jericho. And it wasn’t only the wall that came down, but also the gates they were holding up, with ruins left for archeologist to keep picking, but curse to the one who rebuilt them.
If gates are not places of battles, and thanksgiving not weapons of warfare, how was it the orchestra of choir that led the sword and armoury at the ambush battle of Tekoa valley.
At this point, I cannot but quote a king given ridiculously to thanksgiving in the midst of a logically losing battle. King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicle 20. Little wonder he was a King of Judah, and would put thanksgiving at the front burner,
“After talking it over with the people, Jehoshaphat appointed a choir for God; dressed in holy robes, they were to march ahead of the troops, singing, Give thanks to GOD, His love never quits. As soon as they started shouting and praising, GOD set ambushes against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir…”
The rest was history leading them to the temple of the Lord with lyres, harps and trumpets.
Not one or twice would gates yield to that of thanksgiving. Was it not the clangs of chains of thanksgiving in Paul’s and Silas hand – how painful that must have been! For they not only prayed but sang audibly until it was prison break of earthquake. You might have heard of it, how the prison gate became the least of their problems.
This is because it is at His gates of thanksgiving that other gates are swallowed – the Psalmist says, “lift up your head oh ye gates! And let the King of glory come in!” In case they ask of His identity, we switch into thanksgiving, that He is the Lord that is strong and mighty – specifically mighty in battles! Again, gates and battles. Once His name is hallowed with thanksgiving, you have entered His gate. What happens next is that His Kingdom of God in heaven comes on your earth gates for His will to be done as the reality of His presence. It’s like an embassy in a diplomatic country. So, gates are interfaces. What matters is what you enter with.
His gates can be liken to the foot of the ladder where Jacob met heaven at his struggle, seeing angels trafficking and seeing that the Lord was there and he didn’t know. He must have felt like one who found the secret place of The most high. His gates are places of yielding all mights and weaknesses to thanksgiving to take the led, giving God the glory, where you look at all your strength as an individual and let them take a queue behind thanksgiving like King Jehoshaphat.
Sadly, His gates are dangerously the places your soul can easily forget His benefits and put up other spiritual gift ahead of thanksgiving.
And do you know that among all notable signs of Jesus coming in the sky, which are playing out again and again on replay, ingratitude is not a sign anyone would readily watch out for when He warned us to watch and pray. Which is why unthankfulness, one of the wiles of the devil this edition is putting your heart on guard against as we expect His coming.
“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy… - 1Tim 2:1-2”
Therefore, there has to be a dig into your spirit, almost pinching your body like David would have done to remind his soul not to forget God’s benefits. By now, you too should take a pause, even from reading this edition and start to recall His benefits over your life. This soloist search should begin to spur you into putting thanksgiving first at every gated. For it would be quite hard to enter His gates without thanksgiving my dear.
And in case you can’t remember a reason to give God thanks, just ask and of the psalmists. David in particular among those he wrote in Psalm 103: 1-5, would give you one too many.
That God forgave our sins, and our Spirit is saved.
For we are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ at this particular gate of sin and death at the outside frame, and salvation and life at its inner frame. For its power of God into salvation, instead we speak at the enemies at the gates as children and the heritage of God. We speak against the broad gateway to destruction as we enter the narrow one. We speak as He builds His Church and add to it daily He in this restoration as we fulfill the scripture that out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that makes merry, I will multiply them and they shall not be few and I will glory them and they shall not be small! We enter this gate with victory of salvation. This is where the gate of hell shall not prevail, that having triumphed and made an open show of hell. Yes, demons are bound to obey us at the name of Jesus. And as we keep entering through this gates multiplied with harvest of souls by thanksgiving, there’s joy in heaven over every sinner that repeats. Yet you still can’t trivialise the thanksgiving that your own name is written in the book of life. It is called the joy of salvation!
Want another tank of thanks opened that can be is easy to forget? The Psalmist went on to say,
He healed your diseases. Wow! Has God ever healed your body?
I speak of one you knew couldn’t be explained naturally otherwise. We often fail to enter and conquer this gate of diseases as only a few make it through of every healed lepers. Leprosies are stuck on things that were initially so stigmatising to made us feel as outcast in the city gate of health, where life on the outside of the gate makes it look like gate of disease. And because there are two sides to every gates, others see it as the beautiful gate, yet you needed your healing like the man looking upon Peter and has resigned to crumbs or alms. How do you think this man entered the temple once healed?
Whereas, there was praying without ceasing – crying Jesus son of David would heal us, whereas there was faith and obedience to go and show ourselves to the priests, it’s usually the strangers that enter this gate of healing with thanksgiving. Wider than children of light who are all too familiar with healer as the son of a carpenter they know him to Adam.
Painfully, one out of ten times, it’s often this thanksgiving samaritan who sees Christ as the High priest of all to show himself first to, that ends up being made whole. And are let go their own way without further order to show themselves to any lesser priest afterwards. Although, they might.
David wouldn’t let go just yet. He added to the thanksgiving list that it was God who redeemed his life.
Talk of our souls escaping like birds from the snare of the fowler, the snare is broken! Broken like the enemies gate.
Broken like the bars of iron cut asunder, that the gate dubbed cage of destruction is destroyed and we are free from every entrapment after salvation – for our redeemer didn’t redeem us and died but broke the cage of grave He resurrected on the third day. So, I sing my redeemer lives.
When it comes to crowing us with loving kindness and mercy, you would understand it was just by His doings that we are crowned kings at His gates, coming with spoils of these wars He has won for us.
He gave us beauty for ashes, oil of gladness for morning and garment of praise instead of heaviness!
So why would we then not enter His gates with thanksgiving knowing that He even satisfies us with long life in Him?
We live long both in spirit and body as we honour our parents, including him who has made us His joint heirs! Entering His gate is coming to His presence with thanksgiving of all forms- Ps 95:2.
Maybe, what we should also look at is what happens when we don’t enter with thanksgiving.
Why could you not enter with anything else? Will God would reject us? Never, but how sensible could it have been, entering with thanksgiving! Here is why you want to enter His gates with thanksgiving, Judah leads!
Has it ever occurred to you why Judah, the fourth son of Jacob led the entire tribe and is singled out when it comes to thanksgiving? I bet it’s not for talents at music. You could say it was for the lack of compelling leadership skills in the first three sons of Jacob and you would be right. Sure, not that he was pious but appeared to be the best of the lot in their chaos.
Why Judah?
It is Judah you get to see negotiating that the leadership tussle of Joseph, the dreamer. Judah was one who offered that should be sold to slave merchants rather left be be killed in the pit. You see Judah standing as a surety for their father Jacob just to let Benjamin go back to Egypt with them as requested by the unknown prime minister. It is Judah you see negotiating for the release of Simeon held hostage for the perceived stolen silver cup. His leadership brought them to Joseph until the tribe was unified again. And if you thought he led just because of the parting blessing of leadership he was destined to receive from Jacob at his deathbed to becoming the reigning sceptre which eventuality led to the Davidic lineage and all that come with Judea till Christ, you are also right.
But even more so, when you find out the meaning of his name given by Rachel at birth his mother: “I will give thanks.”
Now you see why Judah must lead in every chaos at His gate because he represents thanksgiving.
Your Judah should lead this procession inward into the presence of God, for thanksgiving is the arrowhead in every chaos of life. As it was for Jacob, and his sons, it is this acknowledgement of the Lord in ALL your WAYS that makes your way straight.
Until Judah leads, it’s still all crooked.
Thanksgiving is the horse, every other things comes after as carts.
Otherwise there would be struggles and disarray and everyone would do as it pleases in their eyes. And was that not the case at a time in Isreal, chaos after chaos! There was a priest in Isreal but no king as written in the book of Judges chapter 17 till 22 until intertribal war broke out against super-tribe of Benjamin. Eleven against one who was playing the games of leadership, to deaths on both sides of the divide. Remember each tribe was peculiar with its might, gifts and blessings. “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” A kingless nation leaves everyone, every gift to hustle and jostle for prominence.
And what were the result, stampede at the gates. So it remained until they listened to the priest that Judah should go first. Even Judah struggled at the beginning because it was a war within self. Yet Judah led the way out. Thanksgiving has to take the lead if what you wanted was order and peace.
In every chaos, take a deep breath and let yourJudah, your thanksgiving take the lead.
This is the place of things forgotten before the flight into His gates.
You see why Jesus would always give thanks at the beginning of every challenge, and it always births miracles. At Lazarus’ gate of death, He gave thanks first. In the need for miracle of feeding a crowd with a boy’s sandwich, He first gave thanks. When the disciples asked the son which is God in flesh, God with us to teach to pray to the invisible father, He acknowledged the father and his throne, and the first thing was hallowed be your name. He didn’t go about putting give us this day our daily bread at first, or your kingdom or your will be done as inextricably important each were.
Judah, your thanksgiving comes first. Even when you’re abounding.
When the rich man who wanted to rest in what he thought he had acquired forgot the Lord who gave him power to make wealth, his soul was taken. “And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?”
In all things
Paul would say to the Thessalonians, In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. —First chapter 5:18. It didn’t matter if the event was the perfect will of God or appeared not, but giving thanks in it is the will of God.
To the Colossians, he would say, “whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him" – chapter 3:17.
And to the Philippians, they were to be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication , WITH thanksgiving, to make their requests known unto God - 4:6.
Because we are expecting the day of the Lord. His coming and wouldn’t be caught unawares. He says again rejoice, always! For the Lord is at hand! Phil 4:4.
His coming in the air isn’t a sad event, let it not be for you. It is going to be enrapturing and that’s why some have called it Rapture.
So, we live enraptured, rejoicing that Jesus is coming to the gate of this earth, appearing in the cloud on a horse as the Lion of the tribe of Judah ,for whom riding on the colt at the triumphant entry was a foreshadow.
In a world full of unthankfulness, refuse to be an ingrate to the finished work of His first coming and rejoice with alertness. And when He comes again with host of Heaven, the gate of grave and this corruptible flesh would give way, and it is with thanksgiving and incorruptible bodysuit we join Him triumphantly at the gate in the air!
—Olusola Olusanya.
Topic writer, BICQ
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