THE KEYS
Well it happened; don’t know how, don’t know when…but it happened. A crazy weekend of moving, box after box, item after item, unloading load after car load, and somewhere in that folly, I did it; at least I think it may have been me; maybe it was her…yes it had to be her…although it was probably me, cause she said it was probably me; ok…maybe not with so many words; but I sure felt like I lost them; but I really thinks it’s her… and she really thinks it’s me…alright already; I lost the keys to the car! Did I mention we were leaving on holidays right after church yesterday? We managed to find the spare key to the car and get away on holidays, but the original set of keys eludes me, you know the set with all the other keys on it!
I am glad that I don’t hold the keys to death and Hades (Rev. 1:18) or we would all be in trouble. Our resurrected Savior has vanquished death and the grave, and rightfully, victoriously holds those keys. He is the giver of life, even life everlasting! But there are keys Jesus has entrusted to me, indeed all of us: "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Matt. 16:18-19). The keys represent authority, for a twofold purpose: the building of His church and overcoming the gates of Hades. Now meditate on this carefully, and let the text speak. It is imperative that we understand this text because the church of Jesus Christ, or should I say the Kingdom of our King, is to be advancing, growing, filling the whole Earth (Daniel 2:35, 44)! Many read this passage like Hell is attacking the church, but in reality the church is on the offensive, attacking Hell…gates don’t attack, they prevent people from entering; they keep the strongman out. When gates are toppled over by the attacking army, the city/kingdom has been lost to the attacker. In this scene, Jesus is promising Peter that he and the subsequent church will overcome and vanquish Hell/the enemy – the church ought to be the strongman! The keys to the kingdom are to open the storehouses of heaven to make everything available to us to overcome the resistance the enemy puts up, so we knock down satan’s kingdom and advance the kingdom of God – we bind the enemy and loose the rule of Christ and His church. We are the victorious church militant advancing forward, not back on our heels. Sometimes I wonder if Jesus feels like we have lost our keys, not able to start the vehicle that takes us forward into victory or lost the keys that open the storehouse of God to access all of our weapons to defeat the enemy. Church…we are supposed to be on the offensive! When Jesus trained His disciples to do Kingdom work, He gave them power and authority over the devil, to drive out demons and cure diseases (Luke 9:1; Matt. 10:1); not to hold back the darkness but to overcome it (James 4:7; Eph. 6:11-120; 1Peter 5:8-11). “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you” (Luke 10:19 NIV). When the church is filled with power and authority, she is turning the world upside down, driving out demons, healing the sick, setting the captive free (Book of Acts). In the gospels, Jesus is binding the false teaching of the pharisees and loosing the truth of the kingdom of God into the hearts of the hearers. The disciples continued to bind and silence the lies and deception of the enemy, and loose kingdom teaching to equip the church (the called-out ones). To bind is to be on the offensive and is offensive to the religious. To loose is to set free, to release those called to be disciples, witnesses, ambassadors of the King – Bind the enemy; release the Kingdom of God – knock down those gates!
There is a really cool picture in 1Chronicles of the chief gatekeepers who watched over all the chambers and treasuries in the house of God. It says of them, “They would spend the night stationed around the house of God, because they had to guard it; and they had charge of the key for opening it each morning “(1Chr. 9:27 NIV). To me, this is a call to all of us to, especially to spiritual gatekeepers (teachers of the truth) to keep unlocking the storehouse of God (all the power and authority and spiritual weapons at our disposal), so that every morning we are equipped to defeat the enemy and push back those gates of Hades – we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us!
It is time for the church to take back the key of knowledge that the religious, old covenant adherents have taken from the church (Luke 11:52). It is time to pledge allegiance to our King who holds the keys to the kingdom and can open and shut any door (Rev. 3:7). It is time for the church to find her keys and start binding the enemy and loosing the authority and power of the kingdom, pushing back the darkness, advancing forward into her destiny. Find your keys church!
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