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Friday, 2 October 2015
Gatekeepers and Watchmen - Part One

At the end of August I preached a sermon all about gatekeepers and watchmen. Yes, you heard that right! I started off by talking about what that meant in biblical times, how the principal applies today is security settings and ended by talking about what it means in a spiritual sense for us as believers.

I think this is an important subject for us to get to grips with in these times, so today and tomorrow I am posting some excerpts from the sermon. Today's quotes look at the role of watchmen and gatekeepers.

Three observations: first, watchmen, gatekeepers, and the ruling authorities worked together as a team; second, everyone on the team had to be on the alert, and third, what might be coming to the gate might be good or bad - if good news, they had to open up the gates and welcome it, but if it was bad, they had to bar the gates and prepare for battle.

So what is the implication of that? Maybe you have got there already ...

For security to work well, they all had to work together as a team. If the watcher didn't alert the gatekeeper or the city ruler, what good was he? If a ruler or a gatekeeper were snoozing or partying, ignoring the warning, that might lead to disaster or missed opportunity.

And here is some sobering truth:

Everyone must be on the alert - though alertness for a gatekeeper is different than for a watchman ... Discernment of good and evil is crucial, to determine whether to shut the gates or open them wide ... The same is true today. We need to recognize our watchmen and gatekeepers as well as leaders,  and we need them to work together.

You can read or listen to the whole sermon here and don't forget to come back here tomorrow for Part 2.

Posted By Glenn Blank, 10:00am Comment Comments: 0