Gates Part 3: Sin is Crouching at your Door –Don’t Answer!

Gates Part 3: Sin is Crouching at your Door –Don’t Answer!

How do we open the door to the enemy? One example is if we harbor un-forgiveness. If we don’t repent and choose to forgive we have given the devil a foothold. The open door is the beginning of how oppression besieges us. The enemy gatekeeper will eventually bring in his pals, inviting like spirits of resentment, bitterness, hatred, violence, bad temper, anger, retaliation, and if left unchecked it can evolve to murder.We see this pattern develop in the book of Genesis in the life of Cain. Cain’s sacrifice to God was of his own making, not the one prescribed by God. The Lord did not look with favor on Cain’s offering. In Genesis 4:7 God told Cain that he knew the “right” thing to do, but he chose to do things his way (self-will is rebellion). God confronted Cain’s sin, and as he does for all of us, He gave him a chance to repent.

Cain had to make a choice just as we must choose daily. The devil was at his door. He had the choice to repent and not allow sin in his door, or he could choose to rebel and throw open the door. The Scripture says “…sin is crouching at your door.” Genesis 4:7 (NIV) That means that Satan is laying a trap at your gate waiting for you to fall into it.

“Who make a man an offender by a word, and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and turn aside the just by empty words.”
Isaiah 29:21(NKJ)

If your door is closed then sin cannot enter and you will not fall prey to the schemes of the enemy. Cain allowed offense, betrayal, and hatred to enter his door. The results were a murderous heart that slew his brother in rage. Cain started out attempting to serve God, but disobedience, lack of repentance, and offense, gave way to murder.

“…A man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.” 2 Peter 2:19 (NIV)
“Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey-whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?”
Romans 6:16-17 (NIV)

Cain progressed in his downfall by first harboring an offense against his brother; he then allowed hatred and deception into his heart, which paved the way for murder. How do we, as Christians, open doors to our body and soul? Most believers would not openly dabble in obvious things like occult practices. They don’t willfully dive into disobedience; rather they fall into it through deception because the devil is the master of deception. Satan is not a fool. He and his demons are very cunning, crafty, and subtle.

God says in Hosea 4:6 (NKJV), “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

There is a measure of protection in our ignorance temporarily, but we are held accountable when God confronts us with His truth. We are without excuse because the Word contains all that we need to know if we will only seek the answers. Guarding our body means protecting enemy propaganda from entering the ears, eyes, mind, and heart.

What do we listen to on the radio and watch on television and in movies? What do we read and fill our minds with, and what kind of company do we keep? Does it fill us with carnal pursuits, or does it build and encourage God’s Spirit within us? What do we dwell on in our thought life, and long for in our hearts? Do we agree with God or our circumstances and what we see with our eyes? All that we take in through our mind, ears, and eyes affect our perceptions, thoughts, and longings. We also need to guard our mouth from speaking what should not be spoken. From the mouth the fruit of the heart is revealed.

Protecting our soul means remaining open to the voice of the Lord, walking in His truth, righteousness, and peace. We need to be quick to repent and willing to study to show ourselves approved, so that we will know the Word of God and will not be easily deceived. If we are willing to wage war against the enemy by remaining humble, teachable servants, then we can hold fast to the promises of God. It is God Himself that promises to destroy the gates of our enemies.

“Blessing I will bless you, and in 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 22:17 (NKJ)

“And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, ‘Our sister, may you increase to thousands upon thousands; may your offspring possess the gates of their enemies.’”
Genesis 24:60 (NIV)

“Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men, for He breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.”
Psalms 107:15-16 (NIV)

God is more than capable to tear down every stronghold and demolish the works of the enemy. He does the work, but we must submit our body, mind, emotions, and will, making the choices required. What can we do to resist the snare at our gates?

The same things that were significant about the gates in the Old Testament are also important with our spiritual gates. The gates are a seat of authority. So choose to submit to God and keep yourself under the covering of Godly authority. Then you will have judges and officers to protect your gates and administer justice. Shut your gates off from the darkness and do not allow any idolatrous acts to be performed at your gates. The Word as applied knowledge is the wisdom that we utter at the gates. This will keep you safe from attack. Don’t get comfortable with your strongholds. Through repentance and prayer you wield a battering ram that will demolish the gates of your strongholds.

“The Lord will march out like a mighty man, like a warrior He will stir up His zeal; with a shout He will raise the battle cry and will triumph over His enemies.”
Isaiah 42:13 (NIV)

Sound the battle cry! The Lord is a warrior that leads us through battle to victory. Attack the enemy and set the battering rams to the gates that cause oppression. The only stronghold that we need is the stronghold of the Lord. We must continually keep our gates wide open to Him. Allowing Him to come in power and render the gates broken down and burned with fire. He has destroyed the work of the enemy. He is separating the wheat from the chaff and He burns all that is impure.

When we face a gate where the enemy is crouching, and we have allowed him a foothold, we can still take back the ground for the Lord. Repent and speak the Word and proclaim God’s message at the gates. Worship Him and use the defensive and offensive weapons that He has given us to be victorious.

We are called to be warriors for God. To do this we must first submit everything in our personal lives, dying to self, and tearing down every stronghold. Then we must wage war for His kingdom.

“Go through, Go through the gates! Prepare the way for the people; Build up, Build up the highway! Take out the stones, Lift up a banner for the peoples!”
Isaiah 62:10 (NKJV

God wants His people to be warriors who walk in victory and power. We must go through the gates He puts before us.
God’s promise to us says,

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness.”
Ezekiel 36:26-29 (NIV)

He is the God that promises to tear down every stronghold in our body, soul, and spirit. He will keep us walking humbly before Him if we choose to allow Him access to every area of our being.