You don’t need resurrection power unless something is dead.

The resurrection of Jesus is the center of Christianity, and it’s the center of what we believe.

If Jesus never rose from the dead our faith would be pointless.

I believe God wants to do some renewing of our minds.

I believe that God wants to shift the way we view darkness.

Often Christians are too afraid of the dark. Much like little children can be afraid of the dark.

Several legitimate reasons:

1. Creepy.

2. Dangerous – literal danger.

3. Spiritually dangerous – Temptation etc.

4. Afraid of spiritual attacks, or “catching something unclean”.

One of the great shifts from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant, is that in the old covenant, if you touched something unclean, it made you unclean.

If you touched a leprous person, you became leprous. In the New Covenant, Jesus touched lepers and made them clean.

It’s an important shift.

But nevertheless we often we think more like the old covenant.

We have to believe what we carry. Why is it that we can say “oh, don’t go over there; there’s a very powerful demonic atmosphere there, and it might get on you”. I don’t see people saying “Oh, don’t go over there near that Christian because that purity thing on him could really affect you.” If they can do that on us, then I can do that on them.” — Wendy Backlund

Jesus went into hell, and led captives captive!

The leader of the greatest prison break in history (Jesus the Messiah) broke through death and blazed a trail for his precious children to freedom!

The gates of hell in fact did not prevail. (Matthew 16:18)

 

If you have confidence in the Holy Spirit living inside of you, then you don’t avoid darkness.

You run toward it.

Jesus set an example of going into darkness.

He did not avoid it. He ate with sinners.

He talked with women, even women of questionable conduct.

Then, it would seem that He surrendered himself to be imprisoned as everyone else who sinned, in death and hell.

But that wasn’t the end!

When Jesus told Peter, “On this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail”, that always confused me a bit.

How can something that is built with rock, something stationary somehow attack the gates of hell, and the gates of hell don’t prevail?

It’s like mixing two different metaphors, that don’t seem to be particularly compatible.

Here’s the key.

Jesus didn’t intend for churches to be built in pretty neighborhoods.

His plan was to send us, His church of LIVING stones, right into the many branches of hell the devil has established all around the planet, and plant us right in the middle of that darkness.

Right inside the prison.

And then make a prison break!

And the gates of hell will not prevail!

I believe scripture shows us that the gates are intended to be busted open from the inside.

Jesus said “I send you as lambs among wolves.”

I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16

We see a dramatic ilustration of this in the example of the Moravian missionaries who sold themselves into slavery in order to get to the Danish West Indies (St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John) to preach the gospel to the slaves there.

In 1732 these brothers felt like God called them to minister to the African slaves there.

Nobody would give them access to that slave colony, no matter what they tried.

They realized that the only way for them to come to those people was to sell themselves into actual slavery, and work alongside those slaves, and probably live as slaves till their death.

But that was worth it to them if they could only bring the gospel to those slaves.

As the ship pulled away from the docks, they called out to their loved ones on shore,

“May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering!”

Interesting note:

5 years prior to them being called to minister to the Slaves, the 100 year 24/7 prayer meeting had started. (August 13, 1727)

I believe we’re supposed to raid hell every day. 

Every day.

Every day.

Every day you raid hell every day.

And you take from ’em as much as you can.

And then you start over tomorrow.” – David Hogan (Missionary in Mexico who has seen many people raised from the dead, among other miracles)

Jesus went into hell, and led captives captive!

The leader of the greatest prison break in history (Jesus the Messiah) broke through death and blazed a trail for his precious children to freedom! The gates of hell in fact did not prevail. (Matthew 16:18)

The Breaker [the Messiah] will go up before them. They will break through, pass in through the gate and go out through it, and their King will pass on before them, the Lord at their head.” Micah 2:13 AMPC

The gates of hell will not prevail, because we will bust them out from within!

We will go right into the darkness to save people from death.

We are the enemy line breakers!

The following is from a conversation that happened during  WWII between George Rice, 10th Armored division providing some ammunition to to Richard Winters, commander of Easy Company of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Division.

George:

“A panzer divsion is about to cut the road south. It looks like you’ll be surounded”

Winters:

“We’re paratroopers. We’re supposed to be surrounded.”