THE GATES OF HELL SHALL NOT PREVAIL!

By Pastor Michael Olawore
New Wine Church, London

Sunday 9 October 2011

Foundation Scriptures: Matthew 16: 13-18 


The inspiration for this message has emerged over the past few weeks during which Pastor Tayo has explained the story, statements, structure and strategy of New Wine Church; as the picture of the future of New Wine unfolded, the significance of Jesus’ statement has become more and more clear.  The message title derives from Jesus’ declaration in Matthew 16: 18 ‘And I 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.’ It is not the statement or fabrication of man, but the definitive statement of the sovereign will of the Master, the Creator of earth and sea. He has declared that the powers of hell will not prevail against the church, namely the people of the living God and that settles it; regardless of what the enemy throws our way, the gates of hell shall not prevail!   When you know the conclusion of a situation you are better equipped to get through it – it is much like watching a movie the second time around, you know the ending and therefore are not alarmed or affected by the twists and turns of the plot. Similarly, knowing the outcome that Jesus has declared your victory, this enables you to walk through whatever the enemy throws at you with great peace.
The events leading up to Jesus’ statement are interesting. We are told in Matthew 16 that when Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He began a conversation with His disciples that appeared to be centred on people’s perception of Him, asking them ‘Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?’  Jesus who had been clearly rejected by the Jewish religious community, was not actually seeking affirmation but being a master strategist, was carefully staging his questions. Knowing that He was shortly to go to the cross, He was seeking to establish that the disciples had a clear understanding of who He was before handing to them the institution that He was creating. The disciples’ answers showed a lack of understanding and therefore He followed it up with a question forcing them to address the issue directly ‘But who do you say that I am?’
In John 1: 10 we learn ‘He was in the world, and the world was made through Him and the world did not know Him’ Knowledge and understanding of a thing will affect the degree to which anything can be derived or withdrawn from it. The world has been forever adversely affected as a consequence of its rejection of Jesus. A life lived without knowledge of God is limited in its effectiveness which would explain why the Apostle Paul expressed his longing in Philippians 3: 10 as being ‘that I may know Him’. Knowledge affects our actions and how we interact. If I know that a cash-point machine is not working I will not attempt to withdraw money from it. Your knowledge of a person will determine how you interact with them and for this reason, throughout scripture, we see numerous examples of the efforts to which God went in order for His people to know Him. In Isaiah 46:9 He declares ‘Remember the former things of old, for I am God and there is no other; I am God and there is none like me’ and in Isaiah 45: 18 He says ‘For thus says the Lord who created the heavens, Who is God, who formed the earth and made it, who has established it, who did not create it in vain, who formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord, and there is no other.’
Jesus therefore put the question of His identity to His disciples –‘But who do you say that I am?’ Until that point the disciples had been happy to offer to Jesus the various opinions of whom He was but this question was very different. I imagine that the question was met with silence, you could hear a pin drop until Peter’s bold answer ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’  Peter’s revelation brought about a great change; with the revelation of Jesus’ identity as the Christ came his own identity as Jesus’ response to him in verse  18 ‘And I say to you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail’. When Peter discerned who Jesus was his own identity was revealed. Similarly, our identity is rooted in Him. You are the light of the world because He is the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world; you are healed because He took your sickness and bore your stripes; you are seated in heavenly places with Him because He is seated at the right hand of the Father. Your understanding of who He is determines your identity.
Jesus, in saying to Peter ‘And I say to you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church’ was doing more than re-stating his name. The Greek word used here is ‘Petros’ which denotes small rock taken from a larger rock. Jesus was revealing that the church was of an identical composition of the larger rock form which the smaller rock derived. The bigger rock could not be crushed and likewise the smaller rock. The Church has the DNA of Jesus and therefore the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. The enemy may try and try hard for that matter but he will not prevail. I encourage you to grasp this truth. The enemy cannot prevail against you, no matter what you are going through. God wants you as a believer to understand who you are in Christ and that nothing can crush or overpower you. Peter’s response to Jesus ‘you are the Christ’, acknowledged Jesus as the Anointed One and his anointing. It was a statement of recognition of Jesus as Saviour, healer, restorer and provider, source of wisdom, power and security. Regardless of what you go through, refuse to cave in or quit as the outcome remains the same – the gates of hell shall not prevail!
Throughout scripture we see many examples of the enemy’s attacks and assaults upon the purpose of God but the result has overwhelmingly been a victorious outcome. Joseph was held in prison but was delivered – I declare that you are coming out of the enemy’s prison!  Goliath came to terrorise and intimidate the people of God but was beheaded and brought down – I declare that every Goliath in your life is brought low! In the book of Esther the gallows that had been prepared for Mordecai became the place of his enemy’s demise – every plan of the enemy for your destruction will become the very place in which the enemy is humiliated and destroyed! As Job was restored totally, you too will be restored, as Daniel was delivered so will you be also. Jesus conquered death and the grave and the gates of hell shall not prevail against you! In Revelation 21 we understand that every tear will be wiped away from our eyes, there will be no more sorrow. In verse 5 & 6 we are told ‘Behold I make all things new’ and in verse 6 ‘And he said to me “it is done”. That will be your reality. God will wipe away your tears and make all things new and for everything that you are believing Him to do, I declare ‘It is done!’
In the life of Peter, you see an illustration of the enemy’s harassment and confrontation of the church. In Acts 12 we are told that Herod harassed the church and killed James, the brother of John and seeing that he pleased the Jewish, he proceeded to seize Peter too. It may have been the case that when James was taken the church had done nothing but when Peter was seized the reaction was very different, the church prayed. We are told that constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. The enemy cannot handle a praying church. Isaiah 62:6-7 says ‘I have set watchmen on your walls O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord do not keep silent, and give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth’
The prayer of the early church brought about divine intervention. Four squadrons of soldiers had been assigned to guard Peter in the prison with a view to him being executed after the Passover but an angelic intervention brought about his miraculous release. Chains fell off and iron gates opened of their own accord. I declare that in the season God will surprise you – the gates of limitation will give way to you and the chains of the enemy shall fall away! In the same way that the enemy’s army, chains and gates could not contain Peter, they cannot contain you - you are coming out! Where the enemy expects to find you, you will not be – You are delivered! You are free!  The gates of hell cannot prevail