The Gates of Hell

Sermon - The Gates of Hell

Stoughton Apostolic Church

Jan. 5, 2025

Intro: The Gates of Hell

A few thoughts on where we are going this year: Slow and Simple

“Slow is smooth and smooth is fast”

Napoleon Bonaparte — “Dress me slow, I am in a hurry.”

We have a lot to do, and no time to waste so we are going to go slow.

Luke 8:18 (NASB 1995)

 So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”

We will slow down so we can “TAKE CARE HOW WE HEAR.”

2 Corinthians 11:3 (NASB 1995)

 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

Most of what we are up against is to get us to move away from the simplicity of devotion to Jesus.

Slow and Simple: We will take care to make sure that we get the basics right. There are foundations that are required and a certain way to build our lives and the church.

Biggest issue of complexity is related to trying to build his church, when it is he who builds it and we who are being built. Complexity, division, chaos ensues when get this wrong. Gates off hell DO PREVAIL against the church WE BUILD!

Matthew 16:18 (NASB 1995)

I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

Ephesians 2:20-22 (NASB 1995)

“…having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”

1 Peter 2:4-5 (NASB 1995)

4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is [choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

He is the builder. We are the ones being built into being his habitation.  We should slow down and allow him to build us, allowing him to fix our vision.

We should leave behind us the days of fighting over vision and direction. There should be one vision and one voice,  and its not that of the pastor nor the board nor the loudest congregation members, it’s the voice and vision of God which centres around Jesus Christ. He will build his church!

We have to get clear on the right fight. The Church he is building is the one that the gates of hell will not prevail against. They will, do, and have prevail for 2000 years over the church that we build.

There is a battle to live this way! Warfare 2025

Warfare causes confusion, its actually part of its etymology.

Confusion sets in in battle and that breed more confusion and complexity. I shared weeks ago in Dec. 15, 2024 about a spiritual stronghold in this area and my encounter with a principalities.

We have a common enemy - we are going to go slow and smooth in our fight, and simplify our warfare. We are not confused over who the enemy is, it is not one another nor is it the community. Our struggle is not with flesh and blood, it is for flesh and blood. If we turn our swords, our words, the word against each other we have lost before we even get started.

We have an enemy and we are not ignorant of his schemes: or are we?

2 Corinthians 2:11 (NASB 1995)

 “…so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes,”

Isaiah 27:1 (NASB 1995)

In that day the Lord will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, With His fierce and great and mighty sword, Even Leviathan the twisted serpent; And He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea.

Twisted and twisting serpent: God beats not us!

Twists your words, meanings, motives, and impressions. The more you engage the more he twists.

Example: Its the spirit at work when you are complimented, and immediately what comes to mind is not that you have been complimented but that compliment is twisted. Perhaps someone says “nice shirt” because they really like your shirt. But what you heard when they said nice shirt was “wow they just called me a loser, made fun of my clothes. They hate me and they only did that because they hate me.”

Its taking stories and spreading rumours, its exaggeration, its twisting, its someone says black and you hear white. And it works to produce offence, and division, specifically around this one issue : killing what God wants to do in its infancy.

How many things have started and been rejected, started and petered out, how many false starts, how many good ideas an possibilities only to see them snuffed out. How many people had a vision, the seed of a ministry, the beginnings of something, only for it to be attacked, criticized, misunderstood, and fought against and resisted in the name of the Lord?

Revelation 12:3-4 (NASB 1995)

Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. 4 And his tail *swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.

Now the Child is the Male Child - Christ - again reiterating that what God is seeking to bring forth in us as people, and as a church, and a worldwide church,  is not better programs but the life of Christ in us and through us.

Birth metaphors:

Galatians 4:19 (NASB 1995)

 My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you—

This spirit seeks to devour the beginnings of God bringing forth Christ in us, and he is seeking to do so here… and the way that this spirit does so is like this;

In birth pains not til the neighbours starts coming to church… in birth pains til Christ be formed in you.

Revelation 12:7-10 (NASB 1995)

7 And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, 8 and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.

He deceives the world… so he peddles in lies, but this is what characterizes what he is all about and how this spirit seeks to destroy the bringing forth of Christ in us:

Revelation 12:10 (NASB 1995)

“Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.

He accuses them before our God!

Now hold on a second you might say, we are not in the days of Job, Satan is not marching right into the throne of God. He’s been booted and now dwells in second heaven and on the earth. If you need scripture for that:

Luke 10:18-19 (NASB 1995)

And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.

John 12:31 (NASB 1995)

31 Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.

So how is the accuser accessing the people of God night and day before our God…

Who has access to God now? We do his people. He gets the people of God to agree with his accusations against one another and we pray them, we prophesy them, we teach them,  we call the Devil’s accusations against one another prophetic discernment. We think we are serving God but we accuse one another and we twist one another’s words. We put words in each others mouths, and attribute motive to people because we “know.”

Our information about one another comes with such energy attached to it that we confuse it for the anointing and we walk in a level of certainty about one another that is actually inspired from the devil with info that is not from intercession but accusation.

The devil the accuser, he doesn’t fight fair. He exploits our hurts, wounds, pains, past experiences.

Beelzebub - Lord of the flies.

Matthew 12:26-29 (NASB 1995)

 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

Beelzebul - lord of the flies. Ever seen flies swarm to dead things, to poop, to cuts on an animal?

We can’t have open wounds. Devil infects us with lies and accusations, and uses his deception and accusation to infect us against one another by exploiting our pains and wounds.

Its not your fault that you gut hurt, but it is your responsibility to get healed. Jesus is our healer, he binds up broken hearts. No one, including God is upset if you are hurt. For many of us its not out fault - but if we refuse to come to Him and get healed, that is on us.

If we say the pain and hurt is to much to be healed from, it is impossible to get better,  you are in unbelief as to the power of God’s love to heal. You need a vision of being healed this year.

Look at Jesus - he carries scars, not open wounds. He remembers and carries the marks of scars as many of us do, but many of us have open wounds that need processing. That is where the devil seeks to engage. - that is where this spirit seeks its entry in order to  kill what God would bring forth in us of Christ, in its beginnings.

He would get us to disqualify ourselves by accusing others, dissuading others from being apart of it, or by believing the lies and accusations, have us resist it because we believed a lie about it.

In times past waves of attack have come and rocked what God has wanted to do. I have a vision of what comes against what God wants to to do this time, being itself dashed to pieces in the Rock that is Christ. That is not a resolution of strength, that it is a looking to Christ and see the Rock that is higher than I.

Demonic vs Heavenly Wisdom

Too much in the house of God passes for the wisdom of God that is really just demonically inspired information.

James 3:13-18 (NASB 1995)

Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. 18 And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

See how a lot of God’s wisdom is judged not by its application or comparison to Scripture? It is not adjudicated by whether or not it is factually correct, or aligns with scripture.

You know the wisdom of God because its aligns with the nature of God. Now it will never violate scripture, but you an be scripturally correct yet use the Bible in a Satanic way… is that not what the devil did in wilderness with Jesus?

Let say you’re right and you discover or discern something wrong about someone? Well first, why is that your purgative to do? To their own master they stand or fall.

If you don’t have relationship with them or responsibility toward them, they are none of your business.

Authority functions through love working in the call of God. You have no right to believe yourself appointed by God to correct someone you have no relationship with or responsibility toward. If you want to be part of the solution invest in relationships with the person first.

1 Corinthians 9:1-2 (NASB 1995)

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? 2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

1 Peter 4:8 (NASB 1995)

 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

Love covers… doesn’t help people get away with it, but love covers for their shame.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NASB 1995)

4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 [b]bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Summary:

Revelation 12:11 (NASB 1995)

 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.