This digest is based on the sixteenth message given by Brother Titus Chu in this series. If you have not seen it already, you may watch it on the Youtube Channel. This message will cover up to point IIIA of the message 16 outline. We recommend watching the whole Message 16 video.
Gates of Hades vs. the Kingdom of Heaven
And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (Matt 16:18-19 NKJV)
After talking about building His church, Jesus mentions two things: the gates of Hades and the kingdom of heaven. That is, a world system which Satan rules and a heavenly one in which God rules.
Gates of Hades
Hades is the place Satan rules. It’s wherever Satan has his rule, sometimes even in a very manifested way. If you go to a casino or you go to a bar, you can clearly see Satan is ruling over this place. But sometimes you can go to a very decent place, and you would be surprised. Satan can use a very decent place to gain people away, to rob people away from Christ, and to bring them into the power of Satan, meaning a system of the world.
So here, Hades is a place where Satan rules, and there are many gates.
– Message transcript, p. 2
God is sovereign, above all things, over all things, and He rules and reigns within His kingdom. But do we consider that Satan also has a kingdom and is ruling and reigning, doing his best to keep people from entering into God’s kingdom?
…He can use very decent and even noble things to turn people away. A PhD is not something evil but if pursued for the sake of getting a PhD, with a view of being successful, or ambition to be great, then Satan has effectively trapped someone with a gate of Hades. In other words, he has distracted or blocked someone from entering into God’s kingdom, from being a part of the builded church
– Daily Bible Verses and Devotional, Day 2
Even the seemingly good and noble things of the world can become a gate of Hades. Not just what is obviously sinful or degraded, but anything that causes one to be captured away from being of Christ, belonging to Christ, being one with Christ, living a life for the testimony of Christ, can be a gate used by Satan, who just wants to keep someone apart from Christ by any means.
How do we resist these gates? Be protected by the brothers and sisters in the church life! When the church is built up, Satan can do very little.
The Kingdom of Heaven
In contrast to the gates of Hades, there is the kingdom of heaven. What is a kingdom? It’s where a king has his domain.
Who’s the king? God is the king. The Lord Jesus Christ is the king. The resurrected Savior is the king. When the resurrected Christ has dominion—when God has dominion—then we can say, “This is the kingdom.”
The kingdom of heaven means God is dominating. He has full control in the heavens and He likes to bring the heavenly kingdom down to the earth. The kingdom of heaven is a realm of God’s government in the vitality of His life. You consider, you can have a good king if the king is vital. All the time, He thinks, we need this project, we need that project, we need to do this for people, we need to do that for people. The whole kingdom is filled with vitality. If you have a king who sleeps all the time, you can say the whole kingdom will settle.
– Message transcript, p. 5
Who is this king?
Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” (Exodus 3:13-14)
Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:58)
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)
The King determines the kingdom. To understand the kingdom of the heavens, you need to understand its king. So then, who is this King? Who is our God? When Moses, one of the greatest servants in the Old Testament, asked this question, God answered, “I Am Who I Am.” God answered not with His name, but with His existence. We could never say something like this. As soon as we—as temporal and changeable humans—say “I am,” the next day, it becomes “I was.” There is only One entity who never changes. He is the self-existing and ever-existing Triune God. No one created Him; He simply was, and is, and ever will be.
– Daily Bible Verses and Devotional, Day 5
Full of creativity
In addition to being the I AM, God is full of creativity. Nothing to Him is routine; Everything is fresh; Everything produces new hope and is full of execution in the power of His wisdom.
You know where creativity comes from? Creativity comes from God Himself. He is the first creative One. If He doesn’t have creativity, then why did He create the universe? Why did He create man? Why did He create all the beauties of the universe? Why did He create many things that encourage or satisfy man?
–Message transcript, p. 6
So how should we respond?
Brothers and sisters, when we’ve heard so many messages about the Lord, but do we realize this should give us a lot of capital to be full of creativity? How can we use what we have? Could you write? Could you share with others? Could you make an exhibit? Our God is so creative, and we have been made one with Him! Don’t be content to be bored in the church life, but may the Spirit within you cause you to be full of creativity, that we can all express this part of who our God is.
– Daily Bible Verses and Devotional, Day 6
We’ll end our digest with a hymn by A. B. Simpson. Consider how glorious our King is, and how we can creatively dwell with Him for His work!
We have a most glorious king
- We have a most glorious King;
The heavens, He says, are His throne;
All worlds are His mighty domain,
All kingdoms His scepter shall own.
He dwells with His people below,
He loves in their trials to share;
We dwell with the King for His work,
His burden we willingly bear. - I’m dwelling with Jesus my King;
I’ve found where He dwells with His own;
I’ve opened the door of my heart;
He’s made it His temple and throne.
Like Mary I sit at His feet,
Like John I recline on His breast;
His presence is fulness of joy,
His bosom is infinite rest. - I dwell with the King for His work,
I’ve part in His glorious plan
To bring in His kingdom to earth
And tell His salvation to man.
The world has its work and rewards,
I count them but folly and loss;
My business is only His work,
My message is only His cross. - I dwell with the King for His work,
The work, it is His and not mine;
He plans and prepares it for me
And fills me with power divine.
So duty is changed to delight,
And prayer into praise as I sing;
I dwell with my King for His work
And work in the strength of my King. - We’ll dwell with the King for His work
And work thru each day of the year.
Perhaps ere it passes, the King
In glory Himself shall appear.
Oh, then in some closer embrace,
Oh, then in some nobler employ
We’ll dwell with the King for His work
In endless, ineffable joy!
