From the moment that Jesus spoke these words to Peter: on this rock I will build my church (Matt 16:18), that's exactly what He has been doing. Building a church designed to go to the ends of the earth. To be found in every people group, culture and walk of life. Every tribe, every nation, there is no limitation to where the church of Jesus Christ can go; embracing and collaborating with the kingdom, reflecting His image to a fallen world.

As I spell out in my book, ‘Heaven's Answer To Earth's Dilemma', Church is not just a one-day a week affair, nor is it just about attending church meetings. It flows out of who you are, through your connection with Christ and your relationships with others, society and creation itself. In scripture, this Church is likened to a Bride in preparation, waiting for her Bridegroom to return. It therefore exists now in this life and has eternal significance in the dimensions of God's coming kingdom. For some, the gathering has become the only place that the church has been the church. But Jesus unleashed a new paradigm of understanding that day when He spoke out those life-changing words to Peter the Apostle. This is the rock upon which Christ built the church. He is the master builder of a church without limitation.

Jesus didn't just declare that He would build His church; He also stated that the gates of hell would not overcome His church. These gates are not literal doorways that the church butts itself against. They are in fact, ‘councils of the unseen world,' actively taking ground in and around the planting of God; they are the weeds referred to by Jesus in His kingdom story in Matt 13:24-30, that got planted in the farmers good crop under the cover of darkness. In fact they are anything that comes against the church, living as kingdom people; negative, demonic and deceptive powers, principalities, authorities and structures, working the works of Satan and his hordes, and they come against the church, as it lives, works and worships in all spheres of society and creation.

It is the authority of Christ - as we grow up into the head of this church, Eph 4: 15, operating in our life that silences the forces and the critics of the supernatural world: the authority that says, so far and no further. He through our life and good works, declares to the spiritual realm, this is MY church, take your hands off it! The church built on such a revelation and grounded in this relationship with Jesus, is connected to the courts of heaven, where He sits as Head of the church. Christ is its head and these gates cannot overcome a church where its full supply and power comes from the throne of God.

Now, this doesn't mean there won't be conflict. It means the gates of hell will not win. Your power-base is Christ who defeated Satan once and for all. All authority on heaven and earth has been given now to His church (Matt 28:18). In the Bible, the understanding of gates relates to those places of authority or power-bases in the cities where decisions for the city and society were made. These decisions could be anything from political, administration, to social welfare, to policies regarding war and peace. Whoever was in charge in the gates controlled the city and it's affairs.

These gates are active within all five spheres of authority and influence that the church is established in. You can find out all about these spheres in the second section of my book, Heaven's Answer To Earth's Dilemma. You have been called to be an image-bearer in all of creation, therefore as the church in all of creation you will come against these demonic power-bases in all your life, work and worship, so understanding your vocation and calling, God's supply to you, and how to activate it in and through your life is essential. That is one reason why I wrote my course, Vocations 4Life.

In Matthew 11:12 Jesus states: That from the days of John the Baptist the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing and forceful men lay hold of it. Friend, this is something you can do on a daily basis. Start taking back your authority in practical ways. Empowering your spouse, reviewing the way your family life is conducted, looking at ways your home can become an environment of kingdom activity.  What about work? Disarm the enemy by living a life of integrity, honesty and good service.  The gates of hell have no answer for this kind of church operating within society and all of creation.