The Victory Of The Church: The Gates Of Hell Did Not Prevail by Joseph Edem Bassey

"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." ~Matthew 16:18.

INTRODUCTION To The Victory Of The Church:

 What do you know about THE VICTORY OF THE CHURCH?

 With reference to our previous message on What The Church Needs Today, I want to begin this message by asking a question.

 Dear readers, does putting on a particular school uniform make you a student of that school? The simple answer to this question is no! 

 You can actually sew a school uniform you love, put it on and go to the school, but you won't be recognized by the school authority as a member of the school. It won't be long before you are publicly disgraced before the members of the school, and dismissed shamefully.

 The first requirement is to get registered and given recognition by the leadership of the school as their student. The benefits attached to doing so, is not linked with the school uniform or attendance, but are determined by the standards of the school which requires that all benefitting pupils should be registered as students of the school.

The Deception In The Church

 Are you wondering why the illustration above? Well, the house of God can be likened to a school where people gather to achieve the goal of gaining knowledge and experience. 

 Significantly, the house was meant for the members of the church to gather and encourage one another in a strange land like this, on their goals and heavenly inheritance.

 Today, people of different groups, dress on different attires and attend church meetings, but they are not members of the church. They tend to be the instruments of distraction and deception in the church, causing some members of the church to drift away from the truth.

 These are people who have been deceived by the devil through the love of the world; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. They are made to feel that they are alright, and need no repentance of any kind. 

 This is the deception in the house of God, and unfortunately, worldliness has taken the place of godliness in many houses meant for the gathering of the people of God (the church).

The Declaration Of Jesus Christ

 On the opposite hand, our Lord Jesus Christ, having being made known to His disciples, made a declaration before them. He said, "... upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

 One of the reasons Jesus Christ came to the Earth was to establish the church. The moment the spirit of God revealed Him to Peter, He further made known His mission to His disciples. 

 Meanwhile, there was an obstacle and of course, an antagonist to His ministry. That antagonist was and is The Gates Of Hell.

The Concept Of The Gates Of Hell?

 It is worth knowing that hell has many gates that gives access into it. This is due to the enormous numbers of people applying for hell's citizenship on a daily basis. 

 Let's take for instance, an industry that is fast growing with workers and customers in their millions. Do you think such industry would provide only one main avenue into it? No! It is sure that you will definitely find many passages into it for free and easy access.

 The devil is wise in his own mind to make many entrance available for deporting people into hell. He believes his plans of leading many into the bottomless pit can always be achieved as long as he is in the world. Therefore, he is out for every available, idle soul in the world to be used as instruments of destruction, amongst the people in the world. 

 These people have been used to create many deceitful things that has captivated many souls into slavery and destinated them unto eternal damnation.

Note: The Gates of hell is glittery but it's not gold.

 Arthur J. Hodge in his song, "Have you counted the cost?" made mention of the glitter of sin and the things it will win. He repeatedly asked, "Have you counted, have you counted the cost?

 The devil is ready to give the things of the world to anyone as long as it will aid him to achieve his goal of leading people to hell. The strategy he uses is simple: he exchanges souls for worldly pleasures. What profit do you have, giving your souls for worldly pleasures? This is deceit!

 What Is The Gates Of Hell?

 The Gates of hell represents the powers of the kingdom of darkness, destined to lead people into doom. These powers and forces are programmed by the devil against the people in the world, especially the people of God. The devil is out for the downfall of the people of God, leading many into enmity with God through the glitter of sin.

 The devil with his demons are out in their armies against God's own family which Jesus Christ came to restore before time. He said he will build His church and the powers, forces and deceits of the devil and his kingdom will not have dominion over it! 

 The kingdom of the devil is hell, and it has widely opened its mouth to swallow as many as it can. The devil is interested in souls and so far, he has been able to attract many souls into sin which when fulfilled, brings death. (James 1:14-16).

How did he achieve this? 

 He achieves this by directly using our worldly desires to deceive and distract us from God's directions. Thereby, leading the deceived into eternal damnation.

Good news!

 Jesus Christ prevailed against them all! His trials, crucifixion, death and resurrection proves that He went into the kingdom of hell and came out victorious! 

 Normally, no one gets into this kingdom and comes out of it because of the Gates that were closed against the people in it, but widely opened towards the people out of hell.

 Jesus Christ went and ruled in the kingdom of darkness, took the keys of hell and death, came out and established His church!

 He said in Revelation chapter 1:18, "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."

The Victory Of The Church; The Gates Of Hell Did Not Prevail

 This message is to inform the church about the victory we have through the finished works of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 Though, in the midst of afflictions, attacks and ridiculing facing the church, our victory is ahead! For the Gates of hell did not prevail, neither could death hold Him captive.

 According to the book of Revelation chapter 20:1-10, A man called John, had a revelation;

 "1. And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

2. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

3. And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

4. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

5. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

6. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

7. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

8. And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

9. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

10. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."

CONCLUSION:

 God is watching over His church on Earth. He will not suffer His own unto eternal destruction. 

 Therefore, it is worth noting that our victory is not of this world; it is over this world. We are overcomers by faith in Christ Jesus because He ranked the overall and gave us the keys to rule and reign amongst men. (1 John 5:4,5, Matthew 16:19, 28:18-20).

Attend To The Call

Are you a part of the church? Would you love to be among the victorious? If your answer is Yes! Please make this prayer with me:

Prayer:

 Lord Jesus, I thank you for your word and love towards me. I know I am a sinner who has been deceived by the world and deserves, death. Therefore, I come to you for soul salvation and I accept you as my Lord and Saviour. Give me the victory that can only be found in you. Use me as an instrument of encouragement and enlightenment to your people, the church. Thank you for saving me in Jesus name.

 I pray for your son, Joseph Edem Bassey; Father, let your will be done in his life. Bless him and use him to propagate your word in this world, with your fear; in love and humility. In Jesus name, amen. 

 If you made that prayer, I want to say congratulations and thank you for praying for me. God bless you!

©JOSEPH EDEM BASSEY