(Acts 12:10)  “...They came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord; and they went out, and passed on...”

 

(Acts 16:26)   “And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken:  and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.”

 

 

What do gates and doors have in common? 

 

Both are designed to keep the unwanted out and the wanted in.  In most cases they help us keep the good in and the bad out.  However, in the two cases given above they were designed to keep the good in.  Gates, doors, fences, and walls also represent boundaries and are usually easy to see.  They bear an unwritten message:

 

“THIS IS MY PROPERTY KEEP OUT!”

 

These boundaries also exist in the spiritual realm but they are just more difficult to see.

 

(Matthew 16:18)   “And I say 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.” 

 

Wrapped up in this one verse is the purpose, plan, mission, and vision of God.  This was the reason why Jesus came to the earth.  He came to “build His church” and He still continues to build it through us.

 

Many times when we read this verse we picture hell on the attack and the church on the defensive.   We picture ourselves almost sunken under the pressure of hell’s onslaught and God finally is able to bring together enough forces to overcome the wicked one.  That is not the picture portrayed here at all.  Have you ever seen a person attack with gates? No, a person does not attack with gates, he defends with gates.  Do you get the picture?  Jesus and His mighty army (the church) are attacking and the devil is on the run.  Let us go back into history and get a clear picture.  In this case “history” will become “His-Story.” 

 

One of God’s leaders in the angelic realm was Lucifer, the “son of the morning”,  (Isaiah 14: 12-17; Ezekiel 28:12-17) who tried to overthrow God in a coup.   He became God’s adversary (enemy).  Because of this, Lucifer moved from being one of God’s archangels to God’s archenemy.  Revelation 12:4-9 tells us that Lucifer tried to get all the angels to follow him, but only one third of the angels joined him in the coup attempt against God.  They were cast down and had to organize their own kingdom.  Two thirds remained in heaven.

 

The Bible is a battle between “good” and “evil”.  When you look at the back of the book you see who wins.  Until then we will constantly be in battle against Satan and his demons.      1 John 5:19 allows us to know that our world lies in the power of the evil one.  We are looking for a “breakthrough.”  We must pull the seat out from underneath Satan.  It is true that Satan is our enemy and we are coming against the gates of his kingdom!

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The gates of hell cannot withstand the mighty army of Jesus Christ!   Satan’s gates are being pulled down and his doors kicked open.  Hell represents Satan’s entire domain and the church is aggressive and triumphant against it. 

 

The church shall prevail against the gates of hell. 

 

(Matthew 11:12)   “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” 

 

The New International Version says that it “was forcefully advancing and forceful men lay hold to it.”  God is looking for people who will take things by force.  We need to “be strong” like Joshua and remember that no one can stand before us all the days of our lives.  The Apostles were powerful men who dominated wherever they went.  (Acts 17:6)  They were overcomers.  (John 16:33)  The church is to free Satan’s powerless captives. (Revelation 10:11; 14:6)

 

(Luke 16:16)   “The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.” 

 

We are pressing our way into the kingdom of heaven.  We have knocked down the gates of hell in our lives, in our cities, in our country, and in our world.  We are pressing into the kingdom.

 

(1 John 4:4)   “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”    

 

Satan is the god of this present world.  He controls it along with his demons and evil spirits.  He has organized the world into political, cultural, and religious systems that at times, stand as gates to the kingdom of God and prevents people from believing the truth.  Although Satan has a powerful kingdom, Jesus came to destroy the works of Satan (1 John 3:8)  and free us from his dominion.  God has enabled us to enter into spiritual warfare with Him.  He has given us powerful weapons and a promise that (Isaiah 54:17)  “no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper...” 

 

(2 Corinthians 10:4-5)   “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God…” 

 

No matter what the gates of hell are in our lives, homes, and city; we can knock them down with the weapons provided.  Whatever demonic powers are in effect in our lives; we can knock them down!

 

Our weapons are mentioned in Ephesians 6:10-17. In Ephesians 6, we see the enemies that we face; the armor that we are to use; and the weapons that are available to us.   They are given so that we can (Ephesians 6:11)   “stand against the wiles of the devil.”   

 

They are given to us to wrestle against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  We will win the battle and knock down the gates of hell with the “whole armor of God.”  It includes:

 

Spiritual Armor and Weapons

 

• Loins girt about with TRUTH.

• Breastplate of RIGHTEOUSNESS.

• Feet shod with the preparation of the  GOSPEL OF PEACE.

• Shield of FAITH.

• Helmet of SALVATION.

• Sword of the SPIRIT (Word of God).

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We are an army that is marching through the land.  We have a made up mind.  We will not and cannot retreat.  God has meant for us to move forward; therefore, none of our weapons are designed for a soldier to retreat.

 

(Psalms 144:1)   “Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.” 

 

Power in the Blood

 

The blood of Jesus is another powerful weapon.  We can plead the blood of Jesus.  When we plead the blood of Jesus we are applying Jesus’ shed blood as protection against the enemy.  In Exodus 12:1-13 when the death angel saw the blood on the doorposts he passed over that home.  When we plead the blood we are telling Jesus that we trust Him and we are telling Satan that he cannot touch us as long as we are under the blood. 

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In one country there is a song that says,

 

“I’m going to dive right inside the blood.

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I’m going to dive right inside the blood. Where the devil can’t do me any harm!”

 

• We can also bind the strong man. (Matthew 16:19; Mark 3:27)  This will stop him from continuing his destructive activities. 

 

• We have been given authority to bind the devil. (Matthew 18:18)  The devil is strong but the church is stronger!

 

Prayer is another weapon that should not be forgotten.  This is called “Prayer Warfare.”

 

Prayer

 

Daniel prayed and fasted in Daniel 10 and God sent an angel to answer.  The angel revealed that God had heard him on the first day but that he had been in battle with the Prince of Persia for twenty-one days.  This prince had withstood him but Michael had come to his assistance.  It is just a matter of time before we “possess our possesions.” 

 

Promises for Possession

 

(Psalm 37:1-2)  “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.  For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.”

 

(Zechariah 4:6, 7)   “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto_________, saying, not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.  Who art thou, O great mountain? Before ____________thou shalt become a plain...” 

 

Satan tries to hinder the preaching of the gospel.  It is his desire to hide the truth from people.  He knows that there is one God and trembles. 

 

(2 Corinthians 4:3-4)   “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

 

According to Ephesians 6:12, Satan seems to have a highly organized kingdom on the earth.

 

• Principalities (series of leaders)

• Powers (Authorities, demons placed over assigned territories.)

• Rulers of darkness of this world (princes of the age)

• Spiritual wickedness in high places. (Destructive with only wickedness in mind.)

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We must use our spiritual might to put out the enemy who occupies our territory illegally.  We can possess the land.  It is ours!

 

“...Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.” 

 

Promises to Those Involved in the Battle

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(Deuteronomy 20:1-4)   “When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies...be not afraid of them: for the Lord thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt...ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them.  For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.” 

 

".....for the battle is the Lord’s"  (1 Samuel 17:47)