The Ancient Paths : Gateways

Topical Study : Gateways  & Intimacy With God

“Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.” Psalm 24:9

The regenerated child of God has the privilege and honor of walking in the spirit. Father-God created man as an incredibly powerful being, with free access to walk both in the spirit-realm in perfect union with His Creator, and the natural realm. We are spirit, we possess a soul, and are housed in our body. 

“In Him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:27

In order to more fully understand what this verse means to us as an experiential reality, and not mere theological doctrine we need to understand positional and relational righteousness.

Positional righteousness – The blood of Jesus forever clothed us in perfection. This is why we do not need a priest to perform “last rites” before we die. We are clothed in the perfection of Jesus in the sight of Father-God. This is Positional Righteousness. (Scriptures)

Relational Righteousness – When we accepted His gift of righteousness, our spirit entered into union with the Holy Spirit. Our soul (mind, will and emotions) however was not regenerated. The transformation of the soul occurs through choice. 

Through the Cross, Father once again gives us the choice to walk with Him, and in Him. How we relate to God (whether in Truth or by Satan’s lies)  determines the degree our relationship with Him actually looks, and feels, like Him. This is “relational righteousness.”  We have access to the different realms of the spirit, and we get to choose if we have both the desire and intention to walk in them. (Link)

Gateways & Doors

Simply put, these are points of access.

“The Spirit then lifted me up and brought me to the eastern gate of the Lord’s house,” Ezekiel 11:1

The bible is filled (and I mean filled!) with scriptures that talk about gateways that give us access. “Access to what?” one might ask. Well, for example, some spiritual gates lead to the throne-room, some to places of greater insight, others to deeper intimacy, etc… 

Here is an example:

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” Psalm 100:4

Do we want to enter into His courts? Has there been something you have been seeking to get from our Father who gives liberally, but you just cannot seem to get a breakthrough?

Here is a good place to start. How is your Praise-Life? Do you come to Him with gratitude and thankfulness to the point where your body is overcome with tears of joy? Try this: when we desire to ask Father for something, put the request down. Begin thanking and praising Him. Even if it starts out dry, the Holy Spirit will join with you and before long, your worship will be genuine and deep. Then, you will move through the gateway that accesses His courts. 

This is not hyperbole. This is how the kingdom works. This is scripture. Court access to Father is our positional right, and a relational choice to make it a spiritual reality. 

The more we learn about our Father’s kingdom and how it operates, the more deeply we can enter into experientially living “In Him” instead of it being a dry confession of what we call “faith.”

Here is another example:

“He erected the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the veil for the gateway of the court. Thus Moses finished the work.” Ex 40:33

This is perhaps one of the most profound principles that goes missed by many. We could camp here all night on this verse alone. The veil hid the very Shekinah of God from everyone. The way was shut. No one saw the glory Of Jesus. Now, though, that veil is removed in Christ. 

Look at that verse again. That veil was placed at a gateway. 

The gateway that leads to the throne-room of God is covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. What does that mean? Well, it doesn’t mean my golf game is going to get any better. But.. It does mean that in order to access the deepest realms of our Creator’s presence, we must acknowledge the blood of Jesus has cleansed us of all sin and unrighteousness.

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess…Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace.” Heb 4:14,16

My heart grieves for the people I know who fervently desire to have greater intimacy with God, yet will not take the steps to begin to confess, walk out, and ultimately accept their self-worth is complete in Him. If we refuse to see ourselves the way He sees us, our own initiation to the Throne Of Grace becomes inaccessible, because we erect a veil of shame between our soul and His Shekinah Presence. We relate falsely to the Lord, and the gateway closes.

NOTE: False identity is defined as any thought or belief that runs contrary to what Jesus declares in the Living Word. (2 Cor 10:5)

I believe the number one reason so many struggle with walking by the spiritual senses we have, is that we refuse to let go of the condemnation and lies. We continue to hold onto the thought we must perform in order to deserve love and acceptance, and along with that lie, that we need to be validated by others.

Here is another very awesome kingdom reality. The more we practice these kingdom principles, the easier it becomes to engage them and ultimately abide “in Him” as a way of life. I am in this with you all. We are family. We need to have each others’ backs. 

The above are just two examples of gateways and how we apprehend the heart of God by faith. There are many.

I am often staring off into what appears to be nothing. The reason for this is that I am practicing accessing spiritual gateways. The kingdom of Heaven is all around us, and upon us. The spirit realm is more real than the natural realm. We simply must be deliberate with taking time to practice the ways we allow our soul to enter into the realm where our spirit-man already is 24/7.

“The old man” thinking wants to put it all on God. “Well, that’s a gift. Of course they can do that. I don’t have that gift.” 

The bible says we do not need gifts to experience the reality of His love and presence.

Jesus, speaking to those who had *already* accepted Him as Savior declared,

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.” Rev 3:20

How do we open this particular door, or access point, to experiencing Jesus in a very deep, powerful way? This gateway is opened through our will. It comes with a cost. We must choose if we think it is worth it or not. Everything has a cost no matter what we choose. I shared about this gateway in more depth here.

“The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.”

Exod 33:11

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

2 Cor 3:18

It is not enough to look back at our spiritual heritage. It’s simply not good enough to read about it. We have a higher calling. We are being prepared for the ages to come. We have a greater birthright to lay claim to. One that no man, woman, or fallen-angel can steal without our permission.

There are greater and greater depths of intimacy available to us. Let us set ourselves at the gates to our Lord’s kingdom. Let us return to the ancient paths of intimacy.

As I type, a shoreline can be seen. A small coal fire grows brighter. There are fish being cooked over it. The sun slowly rises upon that sandy beach.

He is waiting there… for those whom He calls “friends.”