Introduction

Brothers and sisters, this week I will once again share the fifth sermon in the series "Gaining the Gates of the Enemy," titled "Holding the Keys of Death and Hades." The title sounds quite good, holding the keys of death and Hades, but the question is, how can one hold them? I tell you, God's promises are many. Those who bless you, God will bless; those who curse you, God will curse; God will make your name great, and so on.

But the best blessing, "I will surely bless you," is to gain the gates of the enemy, which is also the most advanced. God's promises have different stages, from beginner to intermediate to advanced, and gaining the gates of the enemy is the best stage.

Later, God's promise to Abraham was fulfilled in Moses. How was it fulfilled? Moses brought the Israelites out of Egypt, which was exiting the gate of Egypt. Joshua gained the gates of the enemy and entered the Promised Land, and the first city he destroyed was Jericho. Caleb entered the Promised Land and destroyed the giants in Debir. David, relying on God's promise, gained the city of Jerusalem, conquered territories, built fortresses, deployed troops, and all the cities and states paid tribute to David. He was exceedingly glorious, honorable, and wealthy.

This week, we will talk about Jesus Christ gaining the gates of the enemy, which is not just a city or state, but the place of Hades, hell, and death. We all know that Hades, hell, and death are managed by the King of Hell. Now, the King of Hell has been fired, and the Lord Jesus holds the keys of death and Hades. This is even better. If a person can overcome death and Hades in their lifetime, wouldn't that be wonderful? Conquering territories all the way to Hades, gaining the gates of the enemy, gaining the gates of Hades, gaining the gates of death.

I tell you, people live under the shadow of death all their lives. Once you live under this shadow, I tell you, it's very miserable. If you go to the hospital and take a look, oh my goodness, there are so many people. One of our sisters works in a cancer hospital, and she sees a lot of it, all disturbed by the spirits of Hades and death.

Now I tell you, as a Christian, if you don't know that Jesus Christ holds the keys of death and Hades, you are at a great loss. If you know that Jesus Christ holds the keys of death and Hades, but you don't know how to obtain this authority to overcome death and Hades, then you are also at a great loss. So, brothers and sisters, isn't it ridiculous for Christians to fear death? Our Lord Jesus already holds the keys of death and Hades. It is not the devil who has the final say, but our Lord Jesus.

When I say this, some people come to challenge me. "Have you seen it?" Oh my goodness, they think I will say I haven't seen it. I tell you, if I haven't seen it, how would you know? Then people use my words, "How do you know?" This doesn't stump me. I think, I will tell everyone in detail how I know. I am not like those theologians who discuss and argue, because there is no result.

I tell you, many theologians are still arguing about whether Jesus is God or not. Actually, I am not very interested in this kind of topic, but I am very interested in God's promises in the Bible. Because being able to draw on God's promises is incomparably good. I read God's word, and then I do it, I try it. As soon as I try it, oh my goodness, the name of Jesus Christ is above all names in the world, above all things in the world. At the name of Jesus Christ, every knee shall bow, even the powers of Hades are like that. You don't know until you cast out demons.

When I cast out demons, the name of Jesus Christ is powerful, powerful. I am filled with emotion, how can casting out demons, such a good thing, become such a difficult thing? Many churches don't cast out demons much, or cast them out rarely. You know that Jesus trained twelve disciples to cast out demons together, and Jesus himself went through all the cities and villages casting out demons together. After training the twelve disciples to cast out demons together, the second batch of seventy disciples also cast out demons together, and they returned saying, "Lord, even the demons submit to us." Can this prove that Jesus Christ is Lord? It proves it, the demons submit.

After reading it, I found that all these people in the Bible are like this. Did the demons submit to the Apostle Paul? They did! The demons were destroyed as soon as the Apostle Paul spoke. But people don't submit, which is a very evil thing. The name of Jesus Christ is a name that shakes heaven and earth in the spiritual realm, but people just don't submit, which is very evil. But if you don't submit to the Lord Jesus, He won't pinch you to death. He is waiting for you to repent. He doesn't want you to perish, and He doesn't want to pinch you to death.

Our Lord holds the keys of death and Hades. As for the disciples before my generation, the Pharisees don't count. Although the Apostle Paul was a Pharisee, he changed and became a disciple of the Lord. The 2026 version of the disciples should be in the same lineage as the twelve disciples and the seventy disciples, casting out demons together, and the demons submit to us. I tell you, it's really shocking. How powerful is the name of the Lord? I only know after I have tried it.

Brothers and sisters must know that the gospel we believe in is a gospel of casting out demons together. Because through this casting out of demons together, it is not that we are powerful, but that the Lord Jesus is powerful. It is not about what we are like, but that the Lord Jesus has already overcome for us. The gospel is the gospel of casting out demons together. If you don't cast out demons, how can you know how powerful the name of Jesus Christ is? You don't know if you don't do these things, you really don't know.

In the past few years, I have solved many kinds of ailments, depression, arthritis, and a lot of other things, as well as disasters and poverty. I feel that many things are matters of the spiritual realm, so the first lesson of my 101 course is that the spiritual realm is real. People live as a reaction of the spiritual realm on our bodies, but people just don't know it.

One day, my mother got Alzheimer's disease. I am not talking about cerebellar atrophy or cerebral atrophy. That stuff is useless, explaining it is useless. I said, "This is a demon!" Sometimes I am not cursing people, I am cursing demons. Don't pick on my vulgar language. "This is a demon!" I said, "Damn it, it ran into me."

Alzheimer's disease, playing with feces in the toilet, really smearing feces on the walls, oh my goodness, it was killing me! If there is someone in your house smearing feces on the walls, then your house is full of feces. Later, my mother said, "Look, look, a bunch of dung beetles are rolling dung balls." So I found the dung beetle thing, found the picture of the dung beetle, and I said, "Look, is it this?" My mother said, "Yes, it is this." It turned out to be the spirit of the dung beetle!

Everyone knows that the things of the spiritual realm are very similar to the animals we see on earth. There are horses on earth, and the horses on earth are made according to the horses in heaven. The insects on earth are made according to the insects in heaven. This is the spirit of the dung beetle, so it plays with feces. The dung beetle regards the dung ball as a treasure, and you can't touch it. Its core interest is that dung ball.

I was wondering where the demon lives? It lives in the chest. As soon as I touched my mother's chest, she screamed. Remember, if you scream when your arm is touched, or scream when your leg is touched, the demon lives there. If you cater to the flesh, there is no way to cast out demons, and you will suffer. I grabbed her chest with my hand, and she screamed. I said, "Spirit of the dung beetle, go away!" Of course, prayer is not just a minute or half a minute. The spirit of the dung beetle was destroyed by me, and she doesn't play with feces anymore. Occasionally, the spirit of the dung beetle will come back and become like this again, but I cast it out every time it comes, and it comes every time I cast it out.

I felt that the name of Jesus Christ can destroy the spirit of the dung beetle, it's too powerful. Later, there were spirits of little crabs, oh my goodness, there were so many. The worms of hell, can we ordinary people deal with the worms of hell? Everyone must not think that there is only one worm of hell, there are tens of thousands of them. I practice the things of the spiritual realm like this, and I gradually recognize them. The more I recognize them, the more grateful I am.

I feel that how can I live without the name of Jesus? I would be living with feces. One day, I took my mother out to eat something delicious. Before going out, I said, "Get ready, change your clothes, and we will go out." As soon as I left the room, I heard a strange noise behind me. I turned around and saw that her mouth was crooked, her eyes were slanted, she was drooling, and her whole body was convulsing. You say it's epilepsy, or a stroke, or what, it's not clear.

But I felt that it was a demon, and I identified it as a demon. Why call 120? The name of Jesus Christ is better than 120. Fortunately, I know the things of the spiritual realm. I said, "Little thing, why are you here when I am taking my mother out to eat?" Then I prayed and cast the demon out. She was healed, really healed. My co-workers asked me, "Teacher, what should we do next?" I said, "What do you mean? Are you asking if I should send her to the hospital?"

Can sending her to the hospital solve the problem of the demon? So everyone must know that casting out demons is the key. This kind of thing happened to my mother countless times. I cast it out every time it came, and I rescued my mother from the hands of the demon. Then I continued to take my mother to eat, and my mother ate a big plate of fried rice, and she ate it so deliciously.

The most important thing in life is to destroy demons, and the most important thing before destroying demons is not to attract demons. Why do you attract demons? Oh, I really hope that brothers and sisters can receive the benefits of this gospel and know the name of Jesus Christ. If those theologians come to argue with me, I won't argue with them about this. If Jesus is not God, can He do this?

I think this thing is particularly good. Many years ago, when I was not a full-time pastor, I was still working. A student got mental illness. How did she get mental illness? Because of unrequited love. You say, is this unrequited love a demon? I tell you, unrequited love is definitely a demon. The boy she liked was also someone I knew, and this student was also someone I knew.

Then this child went to the temple and got a talisman. She recited this talisman all day long, which she got from a master, to make the boy change his mind and love her. As a result, she recited it and recited it and recited herself into mental illness. She ran to the subway station and made a worker's pose, raising her hand like a statue of a worker, peasant, and soldier.

Some people saw her there in the morning when they went to work, and thought she was an artist. When they came back at night, she was still doing that action, thinking it was a statue of a worker, peasant, and soldier. They felt that her eyes were not right, and then they called the police. The police sent her to a mental hospital, and I also rushed to the mental hospital. Although the church was not very victorious at that time, the name of Jesus Christ is victorious.

I prayed with her, and her face turned into a fierce mask. The demon was cast out. After being admitted to the mental hospital, after another examination, there was nothing wrong with her. If there is nothing wrong, send her out. I said, "Child, don't play with this thing again." She told me, "Teacher, I didn't do it right last time." I said, "What, you still want to do it right?" "Still want to do it right?" So she went to find that master again. After the master gave her guidance, she came back and fell ill again. The demon messed her up again. So you say, is this demon powerful? Some people say that unrequited love attracts demons, but it's not. Unrequited love is a demon.

After she went in, I went to the mental hospital to see her again. I said, "Quickly get your dad here too. I don't have time to mess with you all day long. I am not a psychiatrist." Then I cast the demon out again. Before the demon was cast out this time, it even said goodbye to me. I said, "Who is saying goodbye to you?" I don't want to see you again." After casting it out, after examining her body, she was not sick again. There was no mental illness. Mental illness is a demon.

After she came out, I said, "I will arrange a job for you, find a job, you can go to work and live a normal life." She still said that she hadn't done it right. I said, "Don't do it anymore, miss. This is not right, it's not right. You quickly call your dad to come and take care of you. I can't handle this thing." She went in for the third time. Many years later, she was a madwoman walking around in the street.

I asked, was I triumphant then? Not quite, but the name of Jesus Christ remains victorious. Brothers and sisters, never think that the name of Jesus Christ becomes ineffective because of you. Last week, I ministered to a sister whose son committed suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills. Whether it was unrequited love, we do not know. Anyway, the adolescent, after going to university, developed a mental illness.

Mental illness is a demon. The person suffers, so he seeks a way out. Unable to find one, he takes sleeping pills. I taught this sister how to be victorious. Victory means overcoming demons. You must know how to overcome demons, and that is through the name of Jesus Christ.

Everyone must start with seeing through things, seeing that living is a spiritual matter. Whether you see through life and death or not, life and death still happen. Seeing through life and death brings God's glory; not seeing through it brings trouble. Now, as I glance around, this problem is a demon, that problem is a demon—all demons. But people do not see them; demons hide in people's thoughts and intentions.

The Lord we believe in is a demon-expelling Lord, and the gospel we believe in is a demon-expelling gospel. Our Lord Jesus holds the keys to death and Hades. He is effective. The Lord Jesus obtained the gates of the enemy for us, and now we draw upon God's promises.

The Lord Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the dead in a body of flesh and blood, through death destroying the one who has the power of death, and freeing those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. Fearing death is the end. How could we live without the Lord Jesus? Start readjusting now; fearing death is no longer an option because the keys to death and Hades are in the hands of our Lord Jesus.

There is only one way for us to be victorious: through the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. What is the word of our testimony? It is not the theoretical debates in theological seminaries, but the word of our testimony as we expel demons in the name of Jesus Christ. Living is a spiritual matter; it is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. Therefore, even unto death, we do not love our own lives, like Isaac offering himself to God.

The church is the body of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ holds the keys to death and Hades, and our church holds the keys to death and Hades. Therefore, building a victorious church is this word; this word is the word for building a victorious church. Brothers and sisters, start rising up again. It is not that you are good enough, but that you are rotten enough. But because you are rotten, Jesus Christ has opened a path of victory for you. We live by relying on God's promises.

Scripture

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” (Revelation 1:17-20)

Prayer

God, now reveal the mystery to us. God, reveal to us the mystery of building a victorious church. God, let us act according to your word, build the body of Jesus Christ, and establish a victorious church. May your glory fill us. God, let us be eager in our hearts to work with you, holding the keys to death and Hades, holding the keys to the kingdom of heaven.

Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Deliver us from all the powers of darkness, and lead us into this gate of victory, holding the keys to death and Hades, no longer fearing. God, lead us to victory, let us fix our eyes on this eternity, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Scripture Background

The disciple Jesus loved most was John, the one who leaned on Jesus' bosom. His Gospel of John is different from the previous ones because it speaks a lot about the Word, the Word that was in the beginning. John's theology is the theology of the victorious church. John, from writing Revelation, wants to highlight a theme, which is the revelation of the victorious church. If one wants to build a church, one must learn to build a victorious church, not a church crushed by demons.

How did John form the theological system of the revelation of the victorious church? How did he do it? John experienced many things in his life. When he wrote Revelation, Peter had already died, Paul had also died, and James, who wrote the Book of James, had also died. John witnessed, experienced, and participated in the building of the Jerusalem church.

Although John rarely speaks or expresses a view in the Bible, he honors Peter and James because James was Jesus' brother. He personally saw the corruption brought about by an unvictorious Jerusalem church and was filled with confusion. How could this be? If you participate in it, you will be very tired because you are confused. Is this what the church is like? Breaking bread together, but the bread is like a pot lid, turning the Jerusalem church yellow.

Building an unvictorious church is deadly. John experienced so much. Did he read the epistles of the Apostle Paul? Certainly. The theology of the Apostle Paul and the theology of the Apostle John are in line with Jesus Christ. This also explains why Jesus liked John so much.

It is said that he was with Peter and James, messing around there, and should have been contaminated with a lot of filth, but fortunately, he was a person who explored and sought. In these confusions, he reorganized the theological system and returned to the system of Jesus Christ. John testified to the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, all that he saw.

The Apostle John's church view is very clear in logic. The church view comes from his seeking. He sought God, God gave revelation, and finally he wrote Revelation. Revelation not only talks about what will happen in the end times, but also talks about building a victorious church. This is called the revelation of the victorious church, and he also established a framework.

John bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. (Revelation 1:2)

Let me explain a few things to you. First, the word of God. Second, the testimony of the Lord. What is the testimony of the Lord? In those years when John followed Jesus Christ, he personally saw Jesus do this, which is called the testimony of the Lord. Third, we see the proof that Jesus Christ is Lord. How is it proved? It is proved through the victorious church. Therefore, later, when the Apostle Paul was on earth, he did the same as Jesus Christ. What is the word of God? The Apostle John said this.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last.” (Revelation 1:17)

So the first point of the word of God is that our Lord Jesus is the first and the last. What does it mean to be the first? The very beginning, the very end, this section is all about the Lord Jesus. All things will be united in Jesus Christ. Second, I am the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, resurrected from the dead. This is why the Apostle Paul valued the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead so much.

Some people say there was no resurrection, and the body was stolen. If there is no resurrection, what do we believe in? That would be troublesome. Third, the word of God lives forever and ever, and holds the keys to death and Hades. Then write down what you have seen, the things that are now, and the things that will happen in the future. This is God's plan.

Then, concerning the mystery of the seven stars and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. So the word of God has five things. First, God is the first and the last, and all things will be united in Jesus Christ. Second, Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Third, holding the keys to death and Hades. Fourth, God's great plan is revealed through prophecy. Fifth, the mystery of the church. When old John wrote this, the testimony of the Lord Jesus on earth was vivid in his mind. The demonstration made in the world, this concept is very important. How the Lord Jesus did it, we do it, if you don't build this concept, it will be very sad.

The most deadly thing in our life is not knowing how to imitate and inherit. The testimony of the Lord, the word of God, and then the testimony of Jesus Christ, how Jesus did it, we do it, it's that simple. But some people, Jesus asked him to pick up dogs, but he grabbed chickens. Jesus asked him to go east, but he went west. Our testimony and what we have seen prove that Jesus Christ is Lord. Old John actually proved that Jesus Christ is Lord by doing and copying Jesus Christ's homework. Proving that Jesus Christ holds the keys to death and Hades is powerful.

If you are leading a church and are also listening to my word, you have to ponder this sentence. In the past few years, we have done nothing else but prove what we have seen, proving it according to the testimony of Jesus Christ. We have only done this one thing, which is copying homework, proving that Jesus Christ is Lord. We expel demons, fight, and triumph, and obtain the gates of the enemy.

Jesus Christ really holds the keys to death and Hades, so what are you afraid of? If you are afraid, you are afraid of one thing, that is, you are afraid of being a wishy-washy Christian. If you are afraid, you are afraid of not being victorious.

The Lord Jesus is the First and Also the Last

I was thinking, why did the Lord Jesus tell old John that I am the first and I am the last? The Lord Jesus is everything, everything was created by him and for him. This is clearly recorded in the letters of the Apostle Paul later, that all things will be united in Jesus Christ. The problem of man lies in not knowing that Jesus Christ is the first and the last.

The history of mankind is embedded in the head of Jesus Christ and the end of Jesus Christ. This is a theology. Without this foundation, it is difficult for you to go on. If your eyes only see your own beginning and end, that is seventy or eighty years. When your first and your last are embedded in the first of Jesus Christ and the last of Jesus Christ, it becomes meaningful, that is, our small plan must be integrated into the big plan of Jesus Christ. Sometimes when I say this, everyone may find it a bit difficult to hear, but the angle you stand on is different.

If you are not standing in the beginning of Jesus Christ and the end of Jesus Christ, but standing in the middle to see, you are only standing at your birth, and your life is like this. What is the meaning? So turn your beginning into the beginning of Jesus Christ, and put your end into the end of Jesus Christ. When you look at these seventy or eighty years again, it is just a snap of your fingers, nothing at all, so you don't have to live in entanglement.

For example, the mentally ill patient I just mentioned, she only looked at her short period of time, and did not see through or understand her birth to death, but only saw love, and liked that young man so much that she went to the mental hospital. If you can't see through life, it will be very troublesome. How can you see through it? See the revelation of the Lord Jesus, from the beginning of this world to the end of the world.

Many people are still entangled, why did God create a tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Why didn't he care about Adam and Eve and just let them eat it? Because God only wants the victorious. I once met a person who said, teacher, I have to repay six million debts tomorrow. I can't repay the six million debts when they are due. I said, if you can't repay them, don't repay them. How can you repay them if you can't repay them? There are many old rogues in this world.

He said that wouldn't work. In fact, he has to do it even if it doesn't work. A week later, I saw him again. I said, you didn't pay it back, did you? So how did you get through these days? Did you have food and drink? He said yes. In fact, he finally got through it.

So, in this life, there is no insurmountable Flaming Mountain. One can always get through. Life is like that; Heaven never seals off all exits. But if one's gaze is only fixed on worldly matters, it leads to great suffering. Bankruptcy and being blacklisted are actually opening a path for you, not trying to kill you. Even if you die, you cannot repay the debt. They simply do not care about that. It is the government opening a path for you.

If we see through this, standing from the perspective of Jesus Christ, who is the beginning and the end of this world, there will be no problem. Let your seventy or eighty years be embedded in the Alpha and Omega of Jesus Christ, who holds the keys to death and Hades, and there will be no problem.

I Was Dead, and Behold, I Am Alive Forevermore

"I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore" – this statement is crucial. When the Lord Jesus was about to go to Jerusalem to face death, Peter said that could not happen. But Jesus said, "Get behind me, Satan!" Jesus Christ clearly knew that He would be crucified, yet He resolutely went forward, with great composure.

If Jesus had died of old age, Christianity would not have been established. Jesus Christ died and then resurrected; this is victory. Jesus Christ had to walk this path. He came into this world to accomplish this salvation, to seize the gates of His enemies, and to take the keys of death and Hades. To die and be resurrected is to destroy the one who has the power of death, so that we do not fear death.

Holding the Keys of Death and Hades in Victory

Therefore, offering oneself like Isaac means that God's promise will be fulfilled many years later in the descendants of Abraham, that is, in Jesus Christ, seizing the gates of His enemies. Although we are not Jews, through faith in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Jesus Christ died for us and lived for us, and then destroyed the one who has the power of death, freeing us from slavery and opening a path of victory.

This path of victory starts from Abraham and continues to Jesus Christ. You will see a consistent thread: those who are willing to offer themselves to build God's glorious church and God's glorious temple will all seize the gates of their enemies. This is one path.

Brothers overcome the devil, that is, seize the gates of their enemies, by what means? By the blood of the Lamb, that is, the blood of Jesus Christ, and the word of our testimony. The testimony is that Jesus Christ died and resurrected, and then held the keys of death and Hades, which is very powerful. Demons must obey Him; there is no choice. How simple is the path He opened! They did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

Victory is that simple. If you get a deadly disease, what do you do? No, that won't do. If I get a deadly disease, I must see a doctor, right? If I get a deadly disease, then let me die. The result will be overcoming the powers of darkness. That is how to be victorious. Why did Jesus do this? Because Jesus lives forever.

Lives Forevermore

Because before Jesus Christ went to the cross, He knew that He would live forever. The flesh profits nothing; it is the Spirit who gives life. So, the things that Jesus Christ revealed to us, even now, I am deeply moved. Do you really know? Do you really know that the flesh is of no avail, and it is the Spirit that gives life? Actually, I am very moved in my heart, and sometimes I feel helpless. I do not know how people will be after hearing this. If you want to live in the flesh, you will suffer much.

I have a good friend. I often go to him to talk. He knows what I do. Later, when the COVID-19 pandemic was almost over, he contracted COVID. Then he went to the hospital, and the hospital put a tube in him. This insertion lasted until he died, four months of tubes. He fell into a coma not long after entering the hospital, completely unconscious.

I still feel very sad. If he could have called me, I would have taken him to pray. With the keys of Hades and death in hand, he could have come out. It is still painful to talk about it now. The keys of death and Hades in the hands of doctors are very different from those in the hands of Jesus Christ.

He did not believe that I had this key. Actually, that was many years later, when our church was in a very victorious state, but it was indeed painful in my heart. He lay in the coffin, and I took my co-workers to see him for the last time. When we saw him for the last time, his skin was the color of chocolate due to excessive medication. The keys of death and Hades were in the medicine.

If we despise living, if we no longer live in the flesh, for the flesh profits nothing, and it is the Spirit that gives us life, I want to live forever and ever. Is it necessary to be covered in chocolate? How many people want to desperately live on? Thinking about it, I am very moved.

Among us, there is a sister whose logical system in her mind is not about living forever, but about living in this life. Her husband is sick, and she is very moved because her husband makes money. If her husband dies, the family will have no money, so he cannot die. I cannot afford the cost of my husband's death; I cannot afford it.

You cannot afford it, but you have to bear it, right? It is all for money. Where is the perspective of Jesus Christ as the Alpha and Omega? Only she herself is the Alpha and Omega. Maybe seventy or eighty years do not add up. Some people add up to forty years, some to fifty, some to sixty. There is no difference.

Can I pour cold water on you? How can you live with such hope in this world? Our hope must be placed in living forever and ever. If Jesus Christ died and that was the end, then He would definitely not have gone to the cross. He would have packed up and run away, leaving the mess to His disciples.

But our Lord Jesus, His hope is in eternity. He has opened a glorious path for us with eternal hope, no longer slaves to this life. Are there still people willing to be slaves to this life? Why are people afraid of customers? Because customers are our lifeline. Why are people afraid of bosses? Because bosses control our jobs.

Let us adjust our perspective. It is God who sustains us. How good it is that God sustains us! I am especially moved in my heart. I long for brothers and sisters to have this hope in eternity, to despise living. Living is a small matter. Why live so hard? It is because you are not victorious. If you are not victorious, you will be rubbed on the ground by demons.

Because I do not care much about living, they have not scared me to death. Isn't cancer half scared to death and half poisoned to death? So, brothers and sisters, let us wake up. Death is no longer a problem; living forever is the key. I often say that every time I serve people, especially when I encounter natural or man-made disasters, I see through everything, no matter who it is.

Seeing through, living becomes a very simple matter. I long for you to be able to experience it, to be able to understand it. Anything that cannot kill people is a small matter; anything that can kill people is not a matter. Do you still need to pay electricity bills when you are dead? You do not need to pay; others will pay. Why live so desperately? It is for the series of stories produced by living.

Oh, getting angry, getting upset, arguing, you grab my hair, I grab your hair, you grab my collar, I grab your collar. You tear each other apart in this life, and then go down to Hades together. You are still tearing each other apart in Hades. It is a joke.

Holding the Keys of Death and Hades

Why can diseases be healed when praying in the name of Jesus Christ? Because Jesus Christ holds the keys of death and Hades. Why do people get sick? If you ask me, all diseases are the work of the spirits of Hades and death. If you often experience the death of Jesus Christ, the life of Jesus Christ will be in you. If you know that Jesus Christ is the Alpha and the Omega,

and our seventy or eighty years are embedded in that eternity, and then you have the hope of living forever, holding the keys of Hades and death in your hands, then diseases can no longer overcome you. Not only will demons fear you, but diseases will also fear you. We ordinary people call it the "disease demon," being plagued by the disease demon. What is that if not a demon? So, start with me to seize the gates of the enemy. The previous points are crucial. Seize the gates of the enemy, offer yourself to God, live for God, no longer live for yourself, and you have solved a big problem.

Hades and death are our threshold. Seize the key, seize the gate, and conquer the land. With a strong effort, not only will the gates of the earth be seized by us, but even the gates of Hades will be seized by us. Even the King of Hell in Hades will have to bow down before you. Isn't that amazing?

If our minds are still filled with the worldly logic of this life, you will not be able to hold the keys of death and Hades, and a series of problems will be reflected in yourself. So, sometimes I am very anxious, longing for brothers and sisters to receive the benefits of this gospel.

The Church Is the Mystery of God

The Apostle John must have read the Book of Ephesians. What does the Book of Ephesians mean? Isn't it written to the church in Ephesus? The seven churches. The church is the mystery of God, and the church is the wisdom of God, to manifest the glory of God on earth. The church is the wisdom of God, which is extraordinary. Solitary cultivation is not God's will. Building the church is building God's temple, and then I tell you, the keys of the kingdom of heaven will be given to the church.

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:18-19)

So, you must begin to establish the concept of the church, not the concept of self-cultivation. Many churches that cast out demons only focus on casting out demons, and in the end, it is a tragedy. They think they can cast out a few demons, but without the word of God, they cannot go far. In the past few years, I have seen many charismatic churches with many strange phenomena, being rubbed on the ground by demons.

Brothers overcome the devil because of the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. The last sentence is crucial: they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Some people say, "What about you?" I really do not cherish my own life. God sustains me in my life. Why should I cherish myself? There are many such stories.

There was a pastor who had lumbar disease for twenty years. Coincidentally, we lived in the same house. Oh, how hard it was! His wife had depression, he had lumbar disease for twenty years, and his child was in his teens. He was almost sixty. Looking at his child, he wondered what he could leave for his child, so he had to work hard to make money.

So, he lived very hard, not knowing that God sustains him. I was very moved in my heart, so I prayed and cast out the demon of lumbar disease from his back. It was a large lizard lying on his back, suffering for more than twenty years. After the demon was cast out, his back felt very relaxed. He was jumping and skipping in my room, extremely happy.

So, build the church, build the church of binding and loosing, build the church that takes up the keys of the kingdom of heaven, build the church that holds the keys of death and Hades, because the church is the body of Jesus Christ. Victory! I long for brothers and sisters to receive what I have shared. If you have received what I have shared, are brothers and sisters truly willing to offer themselves, like Isaac offering himself, like Jesus Christ offering Himself? From now on, holding the keys of death and Hades, no enemy can stand before us. Amen.

Our sermon ends here. May God bless everyone.