Weekly Sermon

Resisting the Gates of Hell (Part 2)

You are just as strong as where you stand on, so it’s gonna have to be on the rock.

Related Scripture

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
18 “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.
19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”
20 Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.

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.

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Dr. Jose Nacionales returns to Matthew 16 and continues the call to stand on the rock while resisting the gates of hell. He emphasizes that revelation is the foundation of spiritual strength—“this thing comes only by revelation”—because a faith standing on flimsy ground will collapse. As he opens the meaning of gates in Scripture, he shows that the gates of hell are seats of power and influence operating in cities, nations, and strongholds. But the church has been given the keys of the kingdom, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.