1. Theme: Trampling on the Power of Hades
We must all enter into service, becoming servants. Why are there so many testimonies? I myself am a testimony of prayer, healing, and deliverance. There were more than twenty sisters who believed in the Lord but could not straighten their backs. Yet, after coming to our church for just a few days, they were healed. A true church can trample on the power of Hades. The spirits of hell often roam here, seeking whom they may devour.
The church is one of God's most wonderful creations, capable of trampling on the power of Hades. A glorious church is a church of great power. We must now trample on the power of Hades. Can doctors truly solve the root problems of diseases? Only our glorious church can truly solve these problems. A glorious church must be like Jesus, must learn from Jesus. A glorious church can solve all problems! Our mindset must change. What is the church supposed to do? We do what Jesus did. This is a church filled with God's glory; we do what Jesus did.
How many Pauls are there? How many Jacobs? How many Josephs? Within us, we do what Jesus does; we yearn to be like these great figures of faith in the Bible. Yearn to be like Jesus, yearn to be like the great figures of faith in the Bible! We do what Jesus does, so we must be like Jesus, like Paul. The key point: If Jesus were to come before you, what would He do?
If Jesus were in this situation, what would He do? We must now inherit what Jesus did, inherit those whom Jesus delighted in. Inherit the entire theological system of the church. The benefit we receive is receiving the promises given to us in the Bible.
Yearn to be like Joseph, Jacob, for if you yearn, God will accomplish it! The church should be like this! Today, we must begin to deal with several things: First, dealing with the issue of personal cultivation; second, dealing with the matter of church-hopping. Remember, the most important theme of the Bible is building God's glorious church, not personal cultivation. God's intention is to build His church; the church is the body of God! Can one gain grace by church-hopping? God is a God of organisation and discipline. Brothers and sisters must strive to deal with the bad habit of church-hopping. There was a brother who loved to church-hop, going to six churches a week, and in the end, no church wanted him. The church tramples on the dark power of Hades.
2. Scripture
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)
4. Theme of the Scripture
The Lord Jesus will build the church on His rock, with three results:
- The powers of Hades will not overcome it – a victorious church.
- The keys of the kingdom of heaven will be given to us – drawing upon the resources of the kingdom of heaven.
- What is bound on earth will be bound in heaven – binding demons, releasing captive souls.
Without these three points, the church is not built on the rock, but rather on sand.
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. (Isaiah 61:1)
To overcome the power of Hades is to overcome everything. The key is to build a glorious church, built on the rock.
5. Christ Jesus is the Rock
I want my church to be built on Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is the rock of the church. Jesus Christ is the head of the church, the church is the body of Jesus Christ, this is a very important concept. Jesus is God incarnate, God lived out, the God we had not seen before. After He came into the world, He let us know what God is like, how to live out God's word, that is, the incarnate Jesus Christ. If we know that Jesus Christ is the Rock, how should we build the church? It is to build the church according to the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven (Matthew 16:19), some people say this is charismatic. If these people were born in the time of Jesus, they might also turn Jesus and Paul into charismatics. What I pursue is not any denomination, but to build a glorious church, to release the captives, to pursue Jesus Christ.
Those who know how to learn will certainly learn well, and those who do not know how to learn will certainly not learn well. The other day I met someone riding a bicycle, and she fell after riding two steps. She said that she used to know how to ride more than ten years ago, but now she doesn't. Another person swimming jumped into the water and couldn't swim. He said that he used to know how to do it a few years ago, but in fact, they didn't learn it at the beginning, so they still don't know how.
The church has a sign, but is it built on the rock of Jesus Christ? Does it live out those three results? Can't release captive souls, can't bless others. Some people refuse to do healing and deliverance, and I don't know if they believe in Jesus. If they believe in Jesus, they should always believe what Jesus said, and the things built should always have those three results. They still say: We believe in the Lord, but we do not pursue miracles; we are a traditional church and do not cast out demons. The Bible records many years of words about healing, deliverance, and casting out demons, but they still think that they were filled in by others later. This is actually nonsense. If they say that, they can try to fill it in themselves.
The words of Jesus are spirit, life, and the Word. So brothers and sisters, you must know that we must build God's glorious church according to God's word. Those built on this rock are the same, and those not built on this rock are strange.
6. Hear God's Word and Do It
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was laid on the rock. (Matthew 7:24-25)
Some say that we are evangelicals, believing the words of the entire Bible, but not putting them into practice. Some say we are extreme evangelicals because we put God's word into practice; some say we are extreme charismatics because we do healing, deliverance, and casting out demons. The key is whether we act according to God's word.
The most important thing is to build the church. When we build a glorious church according to God's word, the three results in God's word will definitely happen. This morning a sister called me and said that she always dreamed of dead people these days and felt particularly uncomfortable in her chest. I told her that this is the power of Hades, but overcoming the power of Hades is the work of our church. The kingdom of God is not in this world. We obey the government and are good citizens, but in the face of the power of Hades, we must overcome it (4:39). When I prayed for her, the hairs all over my body stood on end, which is the power of Hades.
There are many words of God in the Bible, and we need to grasp the logical system of God's words. God does not allow us to add or subtract anything from the gospel, because this is a complete logical system. The Bible says that being carnally minded is death, and not being able to discern good and evil means that the solution is death. We must read according to God's word.
7. Obtaining the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, Accessing the Resources of the Kingdom of Heaven
Once I saw a vision, many demons shot arrows at my chest, my chest could not breathe, and I could not shout, so I could only pray in my heart constantly. At this time, I saw another scene, many angels and heavenly soldiers overwhelmingly defeated the demons, and my chest loosened. When I came out of the vision, I began to think, it turns out that we have the keys to the kingdom of heaven in our hands, this is authority, and we can access the resources of the kingdom of heaven. All the problems we encounter on earth today are spiritual problems, and the answers to these problems are in the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
Keys represent authority, and our answers are in the kingdom of heaven. The problems we encounter now are all reactions from the spiritual realm. When we have the keys to the kingdom of heaven, no one can stand before us. When you have the resources of the kingdom of heaven in your hand, no one can stand before you. The staff that Moses held was the key to the kingdom of heaven. The angels in heaven fulfilled what Moses declared.
Binding and releasing. What is the purpose of building a glorious church? Jesus is not Santa Claus. We must begin to know that we must bind the powers of darkness, and we must also begin to bind the powers of darkness. The root cause of disease is the spirit of death, which is the power of Hades. Binding and releasing is the basic work of the church.
Jesus trained His disciples to preach the gospel and cast out demons. Sickness is not a gift from God. It is never written in the Bible. So rise up with me. Rise up and build a glorious church together. Ministry preserves life: bind the devil, release the oppressed, and we will become young. Binding and releasing is our specific work. Build the word of God on the rock, and live out the word of God. The church should trample on the power of Hades and release captive souls. People look young because the power of Hades cannot overcome you. Starting today, we must now restore the passion for building the church. Start fighting spiritual battles, and healing and deliverance are spiritual results.
Some people work desperately, but they do not know how to build God's glorious church and cannot trample on the power of Hades, so they will suffer losses. We must now begin to be faithful servants of God, not running around to different churches, but learning to commit. God's will is to build a glorious church, so that the captives may be released and the oppressed may be set free. We must now become a blessing to many people.