“ When Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who are the people saying
I [ a ]  am?” “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist; some, Elijah; some, Jeremiah or one of
the other prophets.”   Then he asked them, “Who do you think I am?” Simon Peter answered,
“The Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” “God has blessed you, Simon, son of
Jonah,” Jesus said, “for my Father in heaven has personally revealed this to you—this is not
from any human source.  You are Peter, a stone; and upon this rock I will build my church; and
all the powers of hell shall not prevail against it.  And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom
of Heaven; whatever doors you lock on earth shall be locked in heaven; and whatever doors
you open on earth shall be open in heaven!” [Mathew 161 – 19 TLB]
Our opening text is the exact words of Jesus Christ Himself. Diverse people have
interpreted this scripture differently; some believe that Jesus Christ said Peter is the rock
on which the church will be built and as a result, the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
According to the Bible, this is because the name Peter means, "rock." But what Jesus was
saying here is that the church will be built on Peter's confession: “The Christ, the Messiah,
the Son of the living God.” So Jesus said, "Upon this rock [Christ the rock] I will build my
church; and all the powers of hell shall not prevail against it.”
If the church's foundation were built on Peter, the gate of hell would have prevailed after
Peter died and did not come back to life. However, because Jesus Christ is the foundation
upon which the church is built, He triumphantly arose after He was crucified. As a result,
the church is unconquerable. I've said it in the pasts that, the devil can only go as far as God
allows him. God has control over the devil. As a child of God, living in the light of the word
of God and doing things exactly the way God wants them done, the only reason things will
not go in the direction you expect is because God's sovereignty is involved. There is
something God knows about the situation and He will handle it differently. Aside from that,
He is the Almighty God and no devil is strong enough to thwart God's purposes, whether in
your life, business, nation, or in the world.
If those who killed Jesus knew that they were aiding in the fulfilment of God's purpose, they
would not have done so [Matthew 27: 62 – 66, 28]. But they thought, in their ignorance that
they were exercising their power and there was nothing anyone, including God, could do
about it. They went so far because God permitted it. As we celebrate Easter, the
resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, amidst what is going on in our country today; I am
reminded that the gate of hell shall not prevail against the church. Some have argued that
now that “Nigeria has ended,” we finally have the opportunity to make this country what
we want it to be. This is a complete lie! The gates of hell will not defeat Nigeria.
The most critical season in the Christian calendar is Easter. Everything else in the church is
secondary. This is the crux of the matter because sin is what separates humanity from God.
When Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree, their disobedience brought calamity to
the human race and souls were separated from God for eternity in hell. God, in His infinite
love and mercy, came down in the person of His son Jesus to take our place on the cross

and die that death for us, in order to make a living way for us to be restored to God; but
only if we repent of our sins and ask for forgiveness in order not to violate His word, which
says, “The soul that sinneth shall die” [Ezekiel 18: 20]. That is why the Bible says, “As many
as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God…” [John 1: 12].
Before anything else, we must first address the issue of sin in our lives. All of life's
problems stem from sin: sickness, scarcity, misery etc. If you address the issue of sin in
your life, your relationship with God would be restored, then you will be able to ask God for
anything and expect God to answer your prayer. However, asking God to bless you or meet
your needs when you are not prepared to serve Him is the same as asking God to give you
more strength to serve the devil. And you know God would not do so.
The doctrine of Christ's resurrection is central to Christianity [1Corinthians 15: 12 – 22].
For our justification, Christ died, was buried and rose again. Someone defined justification
as "just as if you had never sinned." That is why the Bible says, "If any man be in Christ, he is
a new creature; old things have passed away…” [2Corinthians 5:17]. As a result, Christ's
resurrection represents Christ's victory over Satan and his kingdom, as well as the triumph
of light over darkness. Given what is happening in Nigeria, the resurrection of Christ
indicates to me that the triumph of evil over good is always short-lived. So, if evil appears
to be enveloping our nation right now, it is only temporary. Why? Because, light and truth
will always win over darkness.
An excerpt from an unknown writer’s Eater’s rendition says:
It’s Friday. Jesus is praying. Peter’s a sleeping. Judas is betraying. But Sunday’s
comin’.
It’s Friday. Pilate’s struggling. The council is conspiring. The crowd is
vilifying. They don’t even know That Sunday’s comin’.
It’s Friday. The world’s winning. People are sinning. And evil’s grinning.
It’s Friday. The soldiers nail my Savior’s hands To the cross. They nail my
Savior’s feet to the cross. And then they raise him up Next to criminals. It’s Friday.
But let me tell you something Sunday’s comin’.
It’s Friday. The disciples are questioning. What has happened to their King. And
the Pharisees are celebrating That their scheming Has been achieved. But they
don’t know It’s only Friday. Sunday’s comin’.
It’s Friday. He’s hanging on the cross. Feeling forsaken by his Father. Left
alone and dying Can nobody save him? Ooooh It’s Friday. But Sunday’s comin’.
It’s Friday. The earth trembles. The sky grows dark. My King yields his spirit.
It’s Friday. Hope is lost. Death has won. Sin has conquered and Satan’s just a
laughin’.
It’s Friday. Jesus is buried. A soldier stands guard. And a rock is rolled into
place. But it’s Friday. It is only Friday. Sunday is a comin’!
Wait for the surprise package, Sunday is comin!
Our country has never been in greater danger than it is right now. Unless God intervenes,
the country is on the verge of a major disaster. The devil's agents are overjoyed. I couldn't
believe it when I saw the barbaric display of occultism in broad daylight in the streets of
Port Harcourt and Lagos during the last election, glorifying and magnifying the devil. I

wondered how a nation so saturated with Christianity for this long could still be doing this
in this day and age? There is no doubt that darkness is attempting to engulf our country
and some people are boasting about their occult abilities while calling evil good. As God's
servant, I stand on the authority of God's word to declare that the gates of hell shall not
prevail. They will not succeed in their plans to take over the church and the nation. In the
end, righteousness will triumph and light will triumph. Nigeria cannot be Satan's. Nigeria
will experience a great revival. “Sunday has come!”

QUOTES:
“The most critical season in the Christian calendar is Easter. Everything else in the church
is secondary. This is the crux of the matter because sin is what separates humanity from
God.”
“If you address the issue of sin in your life, your relationship with God would be restored,
then you will be able to ask God for anything and expect God to answer your prayer.”