Matthew 16:18:  “…And upon this rock I will build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven:  and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven:  and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

This promise from Jesus Himself is the key to ultimate victory over all of Satan’s opposition.  Jesus did not say that He would build His Church and the gates of hell would win occasionally.  He said they would not be able to prevail against His Church.  Period.

Psalms 6:10:  “Let all mine enemies be ashamed.  Let them return and be ashamed suddenly.”  These verses truly describe my visit last week to the Pine Ridge Reservation.  As my journey began, working overtime to insure that all ‘i’s” were dotted and all “t’s” were crossed, it felt as though everything was in tip-top shape.  But by the time I had landed in Denver from my first flight, literally all hell had broken loose in almost every detail concerning this discipleship training excursion.  The forces of hell were fighting to shut down our ability to share the Gospel in any way, shape, or form.

For those of you who partner with us and pray for this ministry, this story may sound like a broken record–but this is the reality of face-to-face spiritual warfare.  Ephesians chapter 6, in explaining this war in the heavenly realm, when it describes fighting, it literally means hand-to-hand combat.  Satan hates what is being accomplished.  And by the way, great things are happening across the Reservation and in the Lakota Jail & Prison!

We must realize that every piece of ground, every step forward, every victory will be won in the Spirit.  And it is going to be a fight!  The good news is we will win every fight.  And regardless of how the gates of hell fight against us, they will not prevail and will run away ashamed.  David even went as far to say later in verse 10 of Psalm 6 “they will be vexed”!  What God’s Word is saying to us is that He will not allow us to be shamed.

When my plane landed in Chadron, Nebraska, my plans and details were literally thrown up in the air.  So what do you do?  You walk forward by faith, rely on fellow soldiers for support, and let your spirit man–not your natural man–take the helm.  The results were overwhelming victory, provision, and souls added to the Kingdom.  These situations cause the believer  to have total reliance upon the Lord and give the Lord the opportunity to show Himself mighty on our behalf!

Want to know more about what happened recently on the Rez?  Read my next post for more details.

Yours for Souls,

Chresten Tomlin