ARTICLES
How To Storm The Gates Of Hell! - Part 3
by Jeanniene Lee
In last month's issue we began to discuss one of the key ingredients to STORMING the GATES OF HELL --PRAYER, FERVENT, STEADFAST PRAYER.

Everything that you need to live a victorious and abundant life HAS already been made available to you through the person of Jesus Christ (John 10:10).  However, throughout your life upon this earth, the devil and his demonic hosts will continuously try to challenge you in the area of what has been given to you and rightfully belongs to you through Jesus Christ.

Jesus told Peter, in Matthew 16:18, that "...the gates of hell shall not prevail against it [His body of believers -- the Church]." Because of Peter's revelation that Jesus Christ was "the Anointed," the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16), Jesus told Peter that on this revelation, that knowledge, in knowing that "He was the Anointed One," He would establish His Body of believers, His Church, in the earth and no power of darkness would be able to prevail against His Church.

As a "born again" believer, in accordance with John 3:1-17, you are a part of the Church Jesus was referring to in Matthew 16:18. However, in order for the powers of darkness, the devil and his demonic hosts, not to prevail against you, you must KNOW and have a personal understanding yourself of WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST!

You must KNOW for yourself that the devil and his demonic hosts HAVE BEEN defeated by Jesus Christ already; and, because Jesus HAS defeated them, and you are a believer in Jesus by accepting Him into your heart as your Saviour, they have absolutely no power or authority over you. You must know that! It must be revelation knowledge to you personally!

Colossians 2:15
15 And HAVING spoiled principalities and powers, he [Jesus] made a shew of them openly, TRIUMPHING OVER THEM IN IT.

The Amplified Bible's Version of this same passage makes it even clearer that God, through Jesus Christ's death on the cross, completely stripped the devil and his demonic hosts of all their power over us, His Church -- "[God] DISARMED the principalities and powers that were raged against us and made a bold display and public example of them, IN TRIUMPHING OVER THEM IN HIM [JESUS] AND IN IT [THE CROSS]."

Now it is essential for you to know who you are IN CHRIST. It has been said "What I don't know won't hurt me." Beloved, that's a lie. What you don't know will not only hurt you, it will kill you.

In Hosea 4:6 God declares that His people are destroyed because of a lack of knowledge. Ignorance of God's covenant, which has been ratified by the blood of Jesus, may cost you your very life (Hebrews 8:6; 12:24; 13:20). If you DON'T KNOW that Jesus Christ purchased health for you, when sickness and disease come upon your body, you will not take a violent stand against it, and it will cost you your life. You will die before your time, even though Jesus Christ purchased health and healing for you and IT BELONGS TO YOU (Isaiah 53:5, Psalm 107:20, I Peter 2:24).

Lack of knowledge of who you are IN CHRIST makes you vulnerable to the forces of darkness. As we established last month, the primary enemies in our new life with Christ, our chief opponents, are SPIRITS.

In order to successfully STORM THE GATES OF HELL, we must understand that we are not battling against physical people, situations or circumstances. WE ARE BATTLING AGAINST UNSEEN FORCES, SPIRITS, OF THE SPIRIT WORLD! In order to defeat these spirit forces, WE MUST USE SPIRITual WEAPONS.

KNOWLEDGE OF WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST is one of your greatest SPIRITUAL WEAPONS. You acquire knowledge of who you are in Christ from the Word of God, the Bible --your SPIRITual guidebook to living a victorious life in every area.

We've established the fact, in Part 2 of this series, that one of the key ingredients of HOW TO STORM THE GATES OF HELL is PRAYER, FERVENT, STEADFAST PRAYER!

Colossians 4:2 (Amplified)
2 Be EARNEST and UNWEARIED and STEADFAST in your prayer [life], being [both] alert and INTENT in [YOUR PRAYER] with thanksgiving.

The word "steadfast" means to be firmly fixed in place [on your spiritual territory], to be immovable, unyielding, determined, settled. Steadfast, intense, earnest, unyielding prayer releases the power of God, which when released brings total victory!

James 5:16 (Amplified)
16 ...The EARNEST (heartfelt, continued) PRAYER of a righteous man makes TREMENDOUS POWER AVAILABLE [dynamic in its working].

I heard the testimony of a Christian couple who took a violent stand and STORMED THE GATES OF HELL when they were faced with the threat of an incurable disease and premature death. They prayed the WORD OF GOD and got total victory!

The wife was diagnosed with a rare condition known as "Postpartum Cardiomyopathy."  The doctors did not know what caused it; but, they knew that there was no medical cure for her condition. The condition caused her heart to be in congestive failure due to a loss of its elasticity.

The doctors informed her and her husband that it was imperative for her to have a heart transplant. Without a heart transplant, she would die. Immediately her husband took a violent stand and refused to accept that report. He immediately DEMANDED that the devil take his hands off his wife. He boldly declared that his wife was healed because of the stripes of Jesus! He boldly declared that she was not in need of being healed but WAS THE HEALED OF THE LORD because of her covenant with God (I Peter 2:24).

Jesus Christ, the Anointed One, has destroyed the powers of darkness. He has destroyed their power over you! Sickness, disease and every form of oppression is from the devil; and, Jesus has destroyed all his works. You must know that and stand violently against the forces of darkness and every symptom they try to put on your body in the form of sickness or disease.

Acts 10:38
38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and HEALING ALL THAT WERE OPPRESSED OF THE DEVIL; for God was with him.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus made very clear that those who were bound with sickness and disease were bound because of the devil. In His healing of the woman who had an infirmity which caused her to be bent over for eighteen years, Jesus boldly stated that Satan had bound her with this infirmity those eighteen years (Luke 13:10-17).

What have you allowed him to bind you with? The devil has no power over you as a Christian; so, DON'T LAY DOWN UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES and accept everything that comes your way! If it's bad and causes anything other than "life and that more abundantly" know that if s from the devil and rebuke it and resist it immediately!

That Christian brother WAS NOT about to tolerate, even for one minute, that report that his wife had an incurable heart disease! He bound the devil immediately and demanded that he take his hands off of his wife (Matthew 18:18).

Other equally violent Christians joined in with him in his stand for his wife's life. They began to pray earnest, unwearied, steadfast prayers (Colossians 4:2, Amplified). She also rose up and took a stand herself. Constantly she had to resist fear and cast down every thought that was contrary to the report of the Lord which was in the Bible (II Corinthians 10:4, 5).

In the face of circumstances, she began to speak God's Word that she was healed and WOULD NOT NEED a heart transplant. Her husband continued to confess boldly in prayer God's Word that by the stripes of Jesus his wife WAS HEALED! She spoke the WORD OF GOD (Proverbs 18:21). Her husband spoke and prayed the Word of God!

She and her husband CONTINUED to stand month after month in the face of the medical report that still said her life was yet in danger. They refused to allow the medical report to take precedence over what the Word of God said. Faith is not denying the existence of the circumstances, it is choosing to deny the circumstances the legal right to take precedence over what the WORD OF GOD BOLDLY PROMISES YOU! God's Word boldly promised them that by the stripes of Jesus she WAS healed (I Peter 2:24)!

After months of standing firm in place on their spiritual territory (see definition of "storm" in July's issue) and continuing to PRAY THE WORD and CONFESS THE WORD, the medical report itself confirmed that she was healed! The doctor himself stated that "everything happened just like you SAID it would." She did not have a heart transplant. God performed a miracle! Beloved, they got just what they believed, stood firm on and boldly confessed out of their mouth in the face of circumstances.

Thus, continue to STORM THE GATES OF HELL by engaging in INTENSE, EARNEST, STEADFAST PRAYER and by BOLDLY CONFESSING THE WORD OF GOD OUT OF YOUR MOUTH! PRAY THE WORD OF GOD! Go into the Bible and find specific scriptures concerning your situation and pray and confess them. STORM THE GATES OF HELL by praying and boldly confessing the WORD OF GOD!