In this solo episode of the Voices in My Head podcast, host Rick Lee James opens with a casual, home‑based setting and updates listeners on his side projects, including the second episode of his new podcast Truth, Justice, and the Way (a discussion of The Iron Giant and Ignatian spirituality) and the upcoming guest‑driven episode 600 featuring a Kansas‑City newscaster‑pastor. He then shifts to the main focus of the episode: a developing sermon he plans to deliver at the hospital chapel where he works, centered on the biblical motif of “gates.” Using Matthew 16:18, he argues that the traditional image of the church defending against a charging hell is reversed; instead, the church is the force that storms the gates of hell, which cannot withstand heaven’s power. He reinforces this by describing the glorious, never‑shut gates of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21, made of pearl and always open because there is no longer any threat. From this theological re‑orientation, he draws practical implications: Christians need not live in fear of sin, death, or injustice, but can act with bold love, forgiveness, and compassion, knowing that Christ’s resurrection has already broken the gates of hell. The episode concludes with a hopeful exhortation that the victory belongs to the church, the gates of hell are already busted down, and heaven’s gates remain eternally open for all who enter.
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Welcome back to Voices in My Head. As always, I am your host Rick Lee James, and I am so glad that you're here with me again this week. Well, guess what? A couple quick things before I start. I want to let you know I'm actually not out walking this time. I actually am home by myself a few minutes before work, and I just finished breakfast, and I thought today I'm, I'm going to just do this reflection from my couch, but I should let you know that the window is open next to me. There are things going on outside, and I have two dogs here who at the current moment are sleeping but could erupt in barking at any moment. So we don't know what's going to happen. But also, I wanted to let you know, for those of you who are interested, episode 2 of the new podcast that I am doing with my friend David Dalt, um, the— it's called Truth, Justice, and the Way: Superman and Spirituality. Episode 2 has now released of that, and you should be able to find that wherever podcasts are released. Or if you go to Substack, which is where I publish a lot these days, I am actually putting that out exclusively through Substack, and it should be going out to where all the places the podcasts are delivered, whether it be, uh, Apple or Spotify or Podbean at different places. So if you look up Truth, Justice, and the Way, you will probably find it. But we had a really good discussion, and I hope you'll join in to listen to that. It's actually about The Iron Giant and why The Iron Giant may possibly be the greatest Superman film ever made. But there's a lot to do with spirituality and the way that we are formed, the stories that we tell about ourselves, about our heroes and different things. And it really is a lot more about Ignatian spirituality in some ways. So I think you might enjoy that if you haven't heard it. But today, I'm gonna go back to an old idea that it's probably one that sits in my mind more than any other idea, just thinking about gates. And I want to talk today, it's— I'm forming a sermon that I'm likely to use in one of our chapel services coming up because I have to speak at least once a month there. And so I'm going to share some of those ideas with you. And I don't honestly remember if I've addressed this in the past or these scripture passages on this podcast. Oh, and I knew there's one more thing. The plan is, as we are very quickly approaching episode 600, in the past I've had guests on, people like Paul Balázs, Phil Keggy, different musicians who I've admired. And this time I'm actually going to bring on a a newscaster actually from the Kansas City area. He's also a Nazarene pastor, but he's an excellent newscaster reporter, and he's going to interview me about Voices in My Head podcast and just kind of different things on my journey along the way. And that's the plan for episode 600 at this point. So I just wanted to make you aware that's coming up quickly, so be watching for that. But today I'm going to be sharing, um, what I think is gonna end up being a message for Chapel at the hospital where I work. When I was a boy, I used to imagine the devil as a powerful soldier marching against heaven. Had fiery weapons and storms of evil, and in my mind, I would picture this winged demon-type character. Maybe you've pictured something similar. Jesus tells Peter in Matthew 16, he says to Peter, I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock— or petros is the word closer— on this rock, this petros, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. That comes from Matthew 16:18. But most of us, I think, imagine that verse backwards. We picture hell as charging against us with its weapons, maybe like the satanic figure charging at the church while the church hides behind a wall or a gate hoping not to be defeated. But if you think about it for a minute, gates don't march, gates don't move around, gates don't attack. Gates are these defensive structures. And what Jesus said was not that hell is storming against the church or coming against God, but that the church is storming hell. The gates of hell cannot withstand the power of heaven's army, of heaven's kingdom. So what's the effect? What happens if we, if we get this idea backwards? Because Jesus says to Peter, I tell you, on this rock I'll build my church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it. Well, if we look at it backwards, if we look like we're always being assaulted by hell and the devil, we live lives that are full of fear. We're afraid. We live as if hell, as if the devil, as if sinful creatures, as if sin itself has the upper hand in our life, and we shrink back into our corners. We assume that the world is growing darker every moment, that sin is stronger. That the kingdom of God is in retreat somehow, hiding behind a gate. But Jesus never said that his people would be on the losing side. He said the gates of hell would not prevail. That means hell is actually the place that is trembling. Hell is the place that is under siege. Hell is the place that cannot keep its captives inside any longer. And if we want to see a really clear picture of this, I, I love this description at the end of the Bible in the book of Revelation chapter 21. It paints this breathtaking picture of the new heaven and the new earth, and it says it had a great high wall with 12 gates and with 12 angels at the gates, and the gates On the gates were written the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. There were 3 gates on the east, 3 on the north, 3 on the south, 3 on the west. The 12 gates were 12 pearls. Each gate made a single pearl— made of a single pearl, sorry. The great street of the city was gold, as pure as transparent glass. And that comes from Revelation 21. Verses 12, 13, and verse 21. And then John tells us in verses 25 and 26, on that day will its gates ever be shut— I'm sorry, on no day will its gates ever be shut. I can't read this morning. For there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Revelation 21:25 and 26. So it made me ask this question: Why will heaven's gates never be shut? And I think it's this: because there is no threat, no danger, no night. The Lamb himself is the light. And earlier in the same vision, John hears this promise. God himself, he will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. For the old order of things has passed away. I think that is such a fascinating contrast. Hell has gates. Its inhabitants are locked behind it, but they are destined to fall. I think of this old creaky wooden gate that's just fallen apart. And heaven has gates too, but They're made of pearl and they're beautiful and secure. And heaven is so secure that it never even needs to close the gates. They're wide open all the time, forever. They'll never be shut. And I think this is the beauty of the gospel. When Jesus rose from the dead, he kicked down the gates of hell, tore open the powers of sin and death. That's why Paul could say, where, oh death, is your victory? Where, oh death, is your sting? Hell cannot keep people locked away anymore. Addiction, it does not have the final say. Injustice and racism, it does not get the last word. Hatred cannot hold out forever. The Lamb has triumphed. And heaven is so secure, so glorious, that its gates are forever open. There's no curfew, no threat, no closing hours. The light of Christ never fades. The tears are gone, the mourning is over. The city of God is wide open. And then I ask, what might that mean for us today? It might mean that we can stop living as fearful people. The church is not under siege. The kingdom of God is advancing. When you feel overwhelmed, you feel like you need to take America back, or, you know, something like that, like church people are prone to say. When you feel overwhelmed, remember The gates of hell are not marching against us. They're trembling before a powerful God. So we can stop living in fear. We can stop living behind closed gates. And we can live with bold love. Every time we forgive, every time we pray, every time we offer compassion in Jesus' name, we are battering down the gates of of hell. It's not about new legislation. It's not about marching in the streets. It is about boldly living like Jesus. And we can live with hope because the story ends not with hell triumphant, but with heaven with gates open wide. Not with tears, but with joy. Not with night, but with everlasting light of the Lamb. So picture this once again. On one side, there's this rusted, rattling gate trying to hold back the advance of God's kingdom, and it's destined to fall apart. In fact, it's already broken. And on the other side, gates of pearl shining in the light of the Lamb. So safe that the gates will never even have to be shut. Welcoming the nations into the presence of God. One set of gates is broken and falling apart, and the other will never close. In the middle of it all is the risen Christ declaring, "I am making all things new." Amen and amen. Thank you so much for listening to Voices in My Head this week. I hope I brought you some hope. I hope that today is a good day, a little bit better day of what we just talked about, what I just talked about. You don't have to cringe in fear at all. Victory is already ours through Jesus upon this church. The gates of hell won't prevail. In fact, the gates are already busted down. Heaven's gates remain open for all who will enter. Thank you so much. God bless you. Have a great day.
