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Storming the Gates of Hell
by Karin Paparelli
As Christians we have the awesome privilege of bearing the likeness of
Christ for all the world to see. Along with this privilege is also a tremendous
responsibility. The Word of God says that to whom much is given much is
required. We have been given eternal life and more than that we are called
children of God, heirs with Christ Jesus! We, as followers of Jesus, have
been chosen by God to not only reveal Christ to the world through our
lives but to besiege hell itself and loose its captives! What does that
mean to me and you? When was the last time you went to hell and left with
spoils? We need to see this with spiritual eyes. We don't go physically
into hell, nevertheless hell is all around us. Do you know someone right
now in the pit of hell? Do you know how to break them out?
When my husband and I became believers in Christ our whole family thought
we had joined a cult or worse. They mocked us whole heartedly and called
us holy rollers. I guess we were somewhat zealous! Realizing their precarious
state of eternal doom we inquired of the Lord what to do. We leaned heavily
on the verse that says that "your entire household will be saved"
and declared that over our families by faith. We later learned the power
of prayer and began to pray for each family member, one at a time. We
called it target praying. We would target one person for salvation and
pray until they came in to the kingdom of God. Not long after we began
to see fruit as family members came to the Lord!
During all of this time my father in law, who had been an alcoholic for
years, suddenly fell into a bottle. We knew he needed help fast. His drinking
was so heavy that once he was picked up by the fire department and brought
home when they found him laying in the road unconscious. He knew he needed
help. He had tried AA and secular rehabilitation more than once. It's
effects only lasted a short while. In time he would be drinking again,
and his hope in ever quitting slowly diminished. Through all this his
family relationships were destroyed, as many are through alcoholism. We
knew he needed Jesus, yet he seemed so unwilling. After much prayer, I
received a plan from the Lord. We were to saturate Dad with love. Not
the usual sappy kind, no, this was to be the love of Jesus, the love of
the church, brotherly love. I shared the plan with our men's fellowship
and arrangements were made for home visits.
The plan was for two men to visit with Dad, pray with him, listen to him
and share the Gospel. Dad was a little confused by it but open to it just
the same. So for every night for a two week duration Dad was embraced
in brotherly love. He just couldn't figure out why these men would come
to visit him after working all day, sacrificing their family and leisure
time. At each visit the men let him share his stories. They let him weep.
They shared themselves with him. And they always ended the night with
the Gospel and an invitation to accept Jesus. God knew what he needed.
And He knew when. For this life it was a Kairos moment. At the end of
those two weeks my father in law accepted the Lord. A few months later
he was completely delivered from alcoholism. Several months after that
he discovered he had lung cancer. His battle with lung cancer was tough.
He went for Chemotherapy and then radiation. He was determined to fight
and God was with him. He often said he was so glad that he found God before
he became ill. For some time he was weak and very tired from the effects
of his treatments, but several weeks ago he ended his last round of radiation
and was finally feeling better. He was feeling so good that he decided
to go to church. He wanted to thank the men who had visited him and to
give thanks to all who had prayed for him. He was given the opportunity
to address the congregation and he boldly and spontaneously shared his
entire testimony. He spoke of his resistance to the Gospel, his battle
with alcoholism, his salvation and deliverance, and God strengthening
him as he battled cancer. He shared how much he had changed by the grace
of God.
"And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and the words
of their testimony..." Three weeks later Dad went home to be with
the Lord. Before he died he was able to reconcile with his family. He
left this world without any loose ends. Another precious gift from God.
Although I know where he has gone, I also know that I shall miss him terribly.
In my sorrow God reminded me of His great love and mercy, which never
gave up on Dad and I know that our loss has become heaven's gain.
A good friend recently said to me that she could see us storming into
hell, releasing Dad from its deadly grip. As I thought about that I couldn't
help but think 'isn't that why we're here?' No one knows what a day may
bring. Our lives are to be living epistles and sometimes we may even need
to suit up and storm hell. Our battle is not fought with spears and swords
but with spiritual weapons mighty in destroying the devil's work. Weapons
like the Word of God . . . Prayer . . . Forgiveness . . . Love. . . Mercy
. . .Grace. . . Steadfastness. . .Take courage my friends, Jesus already
won! The keys to both death and hell belong to those that follow Him.
Don't you know someone in hell today? With Jesus you can set them free.
May you walk in His grace. Thy kingdom come!
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