Storming The Gates Of Hell

Matthew 16:18–19 (NKJV)

“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

There is a phrase that has lingered in my mind for months now—a line that captures the spirit of the true Church in every age of persecution, revival, and reform:

“We do not exist to maintain status. We exist to storm the gates of Hell.

We are not here to be tax-exempt but to be Spirit-filled.

Our Founder was not a bureaucrat.

He was a crucified King who rose in power and gave us a command: Go.”

That, in essence, is the mission statement of the Church Militant—the Church as she is meant to be: not safe, not silent, and certainly not stagnant. Christ did not shed His blood to found a nonprofit organization. He built a Kingdom that advances by truth, holiness, and the power of the Holy Ghost. The Church is not a monument but a movement, not a retreat but a revolution of redemption.

I. Built to Advance, Not to Retreat

When Jesus said, “The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it,” He gave the Church her battle plan. We often read that verse as though Hell were attacking and we were hiding behind our sanctuary walls, but that is not what the text says. Gates do not move. Gates do not attack. Gates are defensive structures. Which means the Church is not the besieged—it is the aggressor.

Christ is not calling His people to survive; He is calling us to advance.

He built His Church to break through enemy lines. Every act of mercy, every word of truth, every prayer whispered in faith is an assault on the kingdom of darkness.

St. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:10–13,

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

Notice, Paul does not tell us to take off the armor after Sunday worship. The assumption is that we are always at war—always advancing the light into the shadows.

In 2 Corinthians 10:4–5, he adds,

“The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.”

We fight not with swords or politics but with prayer, truth, and holy living. Our victory does not come through worldly strategy but through divine strength. The Church is victorious when she remembers her posture—forward, never backward.

II. Spirit-Filled, Not State-Approved

The modern Church is often obsessed with approval—approval from government, from donors, from culture. But the Church that seeks the world’s recognition will always lose Heaven’s power. The Church that craves legitimacy will soon lose her authority.

The apostles faced the same temptation. In Acts 4, when the Sanhedrin commanded them to stop preaching in the name of Jesus, Peter and John replied:

“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”

They were not interested in tax-exemption; they were filled with the Spirit. Their concern was not compliance but conviction.

And so it must be with us.

Christ’s command in Acts 1:8 is not for comfort but for conquest:

“You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me…”

Power and witness—those are the marks of a living Church.

When the Spirit fills the Church, she becomes a fire that cannot be quenched, a light that cannot be hidden. But when she becomes preoccupied with bureaucratic safety, she turns into what St. Paul called “a form of godliness, but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:5).

The Spirit does not fill institutions; He fills people.

And through those people, He sets the world aflame.

III. Our Founder Was a Crucified King

The world loves its executives, its managers, and its systems—but our Founder was none of these.

He was a crucified King.

He held no office, drew no salary, and signed no decree. His only throne was a Cross, and His only crown was of thorns. Yet from that Cross, He conquered sin, death, and the devil.

Philippians 2:8–11 declares,

“He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him… that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.”

Our King rules not from bureaucracy but from blood.