STORMING THE GATES OF HELL. “ And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” MT.16:18 Jesus Christ the Apostle of God is saying he will build his Church, that means there is no question the Church will be built. Satan the “god of this world’’ holds the lost captive and he has built up his kingdom and he runs to and fro through out the earth and he has blinded the minds of those that believe not least they should hear the word of God and be converted. The world is Satan’s domain he rules with a heavy hand and has his subjects bound with sins that are like heavy chains that keep them in torment day and night. Consider how strong these chains are, for example drugs and alcohol the suffering these two things alone have caused is so horrible it has destroyed generation after generation of people, through out the world. Fathers, mothers and their children. Sin is so prevalent it has saturated into society, greed, covetousness, lust, envy, hatred, pride, witchcraft, etc. It is indeed a formable wall, and it gives the appearance that it cannot be broken and that the captives are lost forever. Jesus said however that the “gates of hell shall not prevail”, it is sure good to know that we can bust through satan’s strong holds he cannot hold us back. Remember the walls of Jericho and how God caused them to fall flat and the children of Israel went in and conquered that great city. The gates of hell will not be overcome by faint hearted, lukewarm Christians but holy men and women of God who hate sin and love righteousness. It says in Heb.12:14 “Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.” That can be understood to mean that unless we are a holy people we shall not have the privilege to enter into heaven. I believe however it also means unless you are holy no man shall see the Lord in you. God will be revealed through the people who are pure (transparent). There is great grace bestowed upon those who walk holy. The demons of this world cried out when they saw Jesus and said; “What have I to do with thee, Jesus, Son of the most high God I beseech thee torment me not..” Lu.8:28 The man of God has nothing to fear because greater is he that is in you than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:4 This is what the witch in Belize, who was famous for putting curses on people and they died and did many miracles, said to my daughter. She said after we moved next door she lost all her power, she said, the Spirit that was in us was much greater than the spirit she had. The gates of hell will not be overcome by those who are taken up with seeking God for their own advantage, or those who love flattering titles and love the praises of men more than the praises of God. We have many kingdom builders today but unfortunately many are taken up with their own agendas and visions of their own and have not the vision of Christ building his kingdom but are more interested in establishing a work in their own name. Satan’s subjects are not only bound in chains but they are shut in behind formable gates that detour the fainthearted quickly. The gates have thick bars that only the determined, faithful man of God will overcome. For example language barriers, and cultural differences. His captives are kept often in remote areas living in harsh climates of the frozen north or in the bug invested tropics, or the blistering heat of the barren desert. Others are in the slums of the cities where gangs intimidate anyone who would dare to defend the lost soul bound with drugs. Some have been held behind iron curtains where cruel laws are enforced by atheistic militant tyrants. Then we have many who have been taken captive by deceptive religious cults that rule over millions of people and put to death immediately anyone who would dare to go against the statuesque.Of course he uses racism, tribalism or class distinctions. He uses anything he can to bring hatred and distrust. I have painted a grime picture but we all know it is true. There is no doubt because we witness the suffering of the doomed ones daily. Never mind Jesus has promised that gates of hell will not prevail. “ For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” 2 Cor.10:3- 6 The forces of darkness know that our weapons are mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds. He works hard to keep them shut in or you might say to keep the gospel out. It is somewhat like a person who has been infected with a fatal disease who is dying unless he can receive an injection of the appropriate type and appropriate amount of medication. The nations that have been micromanaged by satan have been infected with his lies and are hopeless unless the serum of the gospel message reaches them. They will need an appropriate amount of the serum, Jesus knows the dosage that it will take to spare a nation from this fate of destruction. In some cases we have seen satan allowing them to have small portions of the gospel but very limited amount of the truth of Gods word, this causes them to be vaccinated against the gospel, they know just enough of the truth that they harden their hearts and the gospel runs off them like rain on a ducks back. For this reason Jesus left in Israel twelve disciples not twelve men who had made decisions to follow him. These men turned the world upside down it was reported. Jesus didn’t leave behind a mega church with a great worship team. Mind you there is nothing wrong with a big church with a worship team but the point is this is not what it takes to heal a nation. Look at the United States for an example we have many churches today that are big and they have great worship. We need however those who will worship in Spirit and in truth and this will not happen unless we make disciples. There is a great drought in the land today and the drought is the lack of true disciples of Christ Jesus. Jesus will do has he promised he will build his church and it will be made up of every kindred tongue and people but who will he use to pull down these strong holds and set the captive free? Maybe you? In Jesus,James Lucas
