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Sermon of the Week 
Thursday, January 27 2022

You Hold The Keys

One of the awesome moments in my life was at 16 when I received my driver’s license. It was my key to freedom! But the problem was that I had the key to freedom but no car to drive... So, I saved every dime and dollar I could, so I could get my own car. Finally, I had saved enough to get the car of my dreams. My mom, my brother in law and I, went down to the used car lot, and there it sat... a 1960 Jaguar, cream colored, with a tan top and leather interior.... It was so hot!! I had the money, but my brother in law said, you don’t want one of those foreign cars. They’re too expensive to fix, if something breaks down, it will cost a fortune... I almost cried, but my mom was on his side, so we continued to look.                                                                                                                  So. he took me over to a 1956 Ford Fairlane convertible with a T-Bird engine... Black with red interior and A black top. And I got my joy back. I gave them the money, signed the papers, and he handed me the keys. I drove that baby home. It was the most liberating moment of my life at that point. I know that my parents most likely did not feel that same sense of joy that I felt that day. From my own experience I have learned that they likely had more of a sense of dread and apprehension at what may lie ahead. I had a license, I had the keys, and I had something to put the keys in and drive!....

I’m so glad that Winnie and I could give that same moment to each one of our kids, that liberating moment of handing them the keys to their own car.... (I’m reliving it even as I say it to you)!

The Lord feels the same way, when we come to the place that we are ready to receive the keys of our freedom and walk in the liberty which He has purchased for us!

Matthew 16:18-19, "And I say also unto you, That you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Jesus was speaking to Peter, but his words were not only directed to Peter, but to every disciple of Christ that would ever live. Jesus has given each one of us access to the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and now it is up to us what we will do with those keys. So, let’s talk about those keys this morning....

Jesus said that these keys can be used to either lock, or bind up; or they can be used to open and set free, and Jesus said that whatever we do with them, He will honor our action and He will allow us to make certain decisions that will stand in the courts of Heaven...

We have been given the key of salvation. How will that key work and what power comes with its usage?

The key of Salvation is operated through the preaching, teaching and witnessing of the message of the Gospel to those who don’t know Jesus as their Savior. Every time we tell someone about the Gospel, we are using that key to unlock the door of the kingdom of Heaven for that soul. At that moment, wehave unlocked and opened the door which gives them access, to either accept Christ or to turn and walk away.                              When we tell someone about Jesus, and we open the door with that key, I can envision the door of the kingdom of Heaven swinging open wide and the choirs of Heaven standing and waiting to hear that sinner pray and ask Jesus into their life.And then, Oh, what celebration takes place as praise bursts forth with singing and worship as they walk through the open door of salvation.  What we have opened with the keys and loosed in the earth has now been loosed in Heaven and the portals of Glory ring with celebration.

Colossians 1:13&14 “He has conveyed (translated) us into the kingdom of His dear son In whom we have redemption”...                                    The keys are to enable us to operate in a redemptive manner in this earth dimension. Wherever we are, the kingdom is carried forth that we may lock doors and unlock doors. We can refuse access to the works of the enemy and we can allow access to the things that are redemptive. That’s important in our homes and families. We are assigned to speak and declare redemptive words in our home, our family, in our workplace and throughout our community....

Luke 19:13 tells us to conduct (transact) kingdom business until He returns. I am authorized to carry out heaven’s business in the earth. To transact means to exchange one thing for another. I buy groceries, and I exchange them for currency. I get a salary which I have exchanged for agreed upon services. If you apply that to the kingdom, then we transact human needs with kingdom resources. We trade fear for love and grace. We trade sickness for healing and wholeness. We trade weakness for strength and power. We trade bondage for freedom. That’s how you conduct kingdom business....

Most of us feel the tension within us between having the keys to the kingdom and effectively applying them in our lives and circumstances. Just like driving a powerful car... the key gives us access to all it is capable of, but learning to drive on a busy highway and learning all the rules that apply is an ongoing process. 

A senior citizen called her elderly husband during his drive home. "Herman, she said, I just heard on the news that there's a car going the wrong way on Interstate 90, Please be careful!"There was a long pause and Herman said, "It's not just one car. There's hundreds of them!"

How can everyone else be wrong and only you are right.                      There are many twists and turns on the highway of life and we all must choose which turns to make if we are to arrive at the destination which is best for us. God has given us a GPS through the Scripture and the inner guidance of the Holy Spirit, to navigate our way....

I was thinking about the fact that Judas and Peter and John all lived under the daily teachings and demonstrations of Jesus’ power and authority. They all had the best pastor on the planet, the best leader, the best advisor, the best counselor, the greatest opportunity... yet Judas failed, while the others successfully operated the keys to the kingdom. Judas refused to make Jesus Lord, even though he had all the advantages that the other 11 had. 

I can give you paint, I can give you the best brushes, then give you canvas and all you need to be a great painter. I can even get someone to give you lessons, but these will not be enough without the passion, self-sacrifice and dedication necessary to be a good painter and artist. Without delayed gratification and the right priorities you will remain at the entrance to painting and never move all the way in to become an accomplished painter and artist. The opportunity is always there, but you must use the keys you are given effectively...

1 Peter 5:8  “Be sober-minded; be alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking the unsuspecting, to devour.              9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith.....”.                                               Our enemy is not the IRS, or DMV, or the DHS or the GOV. And our enemy is not drugs, alcohol, nicotine, and it is not homosexuality or lesbianism, or fornication or adultery. Your enemy is not sickness and disease, and poverty and lack, (Yes all these things may be manifest against us but they are just masks the devil wears. Our real enemy is the (D-e-v-i-l).

Stop taking it personally, Satan is attacking Jesus in you. He’s attacking righteousness, Godliness, Holiness, and your hunger and thirst for the Holy Spirit! Thank God, the Holy Spirit (our new coach), now dwelling within us, and He is here to help us fundamentally change how we respond. Our training begins to feel more and more normal, instead of some weird thing that is happening to us. .The good news is: We Have been well equipped to fight this battle.

2 Corinthians 10: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”

We must be like the little girl whose pastor asked her, “what would you do if Satan came to your house and knocked on your door. She said, “I would send Jesus to answer it”….GOOD ANSWER!!!

While our salvation is not based on works, nor is it conditional upon our performance... Still, we will be judged according to our faithfulness in how we used what we were given by God, by our obedience to His Word, and if we had love and compassion for one another. 

Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘Depart from me, I never knew you!” 

Oh my, there are going to be some surprises in heaven! Some folks are going to be shocked that we are there, and we’re going to be shocked when we see the folks we had written off, walking with Jesus.             

J Taylor Ludwig wrote the following poem....

“I was shocked, confused, and bewildered as I entered Heaven’s door,

Not by the beauty of it all, nor the lights or the decor.

But it was the folks in Heaven who made me sputter and gasp–

The thieves, the liars, the sinners, alcoholics and trash.

There stood the kid from seventh grade who swiped my lunch money twice. Next to him was my old neighbor who never said anything nice.

Herb, who I always thought was rotting away in hell,

Was sitting pretty on cloud nine, looking incredibly well.

I nudged Jesus, ‘What’s the deal? I would love to hear your take.

How’d all these sinners get up here? There must be somemistake.

‘And why’s everyone so quiet, and amazed – could you give me a clue.’

‘Child,’ He said, ‘they’re all in shock. They never thought of seeing you!’ One little boy asked his mother who was her favorite child...She thought for a second and said, "Do I have to pick one of my own?" 

Then there’s little Johnny who asked his Mom, "Mommy, who is your favorite child?" His mom thought about it and said "Johnny, you know I can't answer this. I don't have a favorite child." "But mommy," Johnny says, "I am your only child." 

Jesus tells us who his favorites are.... Matthew 12:46 “While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers 47 stood outside, asking to speak to him. (Some religions say that Mary had no other children) 48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”                                                                                                   You are His favorite if you are striving to do His willand obey the pattern             

May our greatest concern and goal in life, be, to hear the master say His, “Well done, my good and faithful servant” as we stand before Him on that day. “Well done” in witnessing to others by your example, not just with your opinion. “Well done” in showing compassion instead of impatience and intolerance. “Well done” in loving who I love, and serving one another in my name. “Well done” in faithfully using the Keys to the Kingdom that I gave you.

Exodus 25:40 tells us “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I showed you.”  We live in a time that believers, for some reason, feel that everything and anything will do. I’ll do it my way, and it will all be O.K. ....REALLY!! God’s glory came to rest on the tabernacle and the temple because they did it according to the pattern given to them. They did it God’s way, carefully and fully according to the instructions He gave them. If we want His glory and we want to see His power displayed, it is no different now, today. We must do it according to the pattern He has given us. Any old way won’t do. 

Oh, friend, hear the lord speaking this, we need our passion renewed for God’s pattern, God’s way, God’s time!

Isaiah 22:22 “And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder so he shall open and none shall shut and he shall shut and none shall open.”

The Keys to the Kingdom is about power and authority and without it, access to all the places and things that have been closed and shut up to you, will not happen. 

I want you to picture Jesus who is of the house of David, with a huge key ring, and it has thousands of keys on it. A key for every situation and place in life we need access to....

A key to the spouse He has for you... A key to the right job, the right home, the right neighborhood, the right friends and family. The key to your past and your future. The key to your health and your peace. How about the key to your finances and your career.The key to every addiction, to depression and low self esteem.... On we could go, let the Holy Spirit show you your area.... Amen!

But understand, He gives us the keys. Without Him, we do not have access to the key ring. Isaiah sees the Lord with the keys. Without Him, the keys don’t operate. Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life, anyone who enters by another way is a thief and a robber”....

But look at this.... Romans 8:19 “The whole creation eagerly awaits the manifestation (the coming forth) of the children of God.”                        Wow, do you get it....this tells us that the whole creation is eager to cooperate with us when we get thisthing right!                                    The right job, the right spouse, the finances and career, freedom and success, are all eager to help you and cooperate in the right outcome...   

1 Corinthians 15:48 “As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthly and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.”

We were born earthy, but we are reborn in the heavenly image and likeness. We now operate in two dimensions. Jesus said that we are in the world but not of the world. Because of this, we have access to operate supernatural keys that supersede the natural order in Christ. Wherever I am, I take the keys of heaven with me. 

If we will only learn to use the keys that Jesus has given us, what greater blessings, what great revivals, what great works could be loosed in earth, that will be loosed also from Heaven. If we will only learn to use the keys that we have been given, what great sins of darkness, and what powers of Hell could be bound in the earth and in Heaven with those keys.

I want to propose a scientific experiment today, and I need your help.  Will everyone who has keys on them please take them out and hold them?  Here’s my experiment: For the next few seconds, I want you to go through each of your keys and see if you know what each of your keys are used for.  If you come upon one or more keys that are on your keychain but you have no idea what it unlocks OR if it unlocks something you no longer have, please raise your hand.

I noticed a few months back that I had a couple of keys that I never used.  I couldn’t remember what they were used for. I didn’t really know.  But I was afraid to throw them away, because, ya’know, what if I needed them some day? You have the keys to the kingdom, but do you know what they are for? And if you don’t know what they are for, how do you know what they open or shut, or bind or loose?

Have you ever locked your keys in the car, or misplaced them so you spend all your time retrieving them instead of using them....well you have keys but you can’t use them... Satan wants to lock you out, or cause you to misplace your keys, by distracting you, or getting you to focus on something else... You’re blinded by emotions, or anger, or unforgiveness... so you’re locked out....

Let’s all quote together, Matthew 6:9 “This is how I pray (and believe): ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come, Your will be done, in earth as it is in heaven”. Jesus said that when He came the kingdom came to earth. 

Oh, church, say not the kingdom is here or there, for He has given you the keys, it is within you!!! When He gave you the keys, you officially became appointed to bring heaven into the earth. Didn’t Jesus say that it was to be in earth as it is in heaven. He told us to pray, believe and receive that very thing in our daily affairs of life. Know your keys, and use them according to the instruction manual we have been given....

Let’s pray together....

Father, in Jesus name, by the power of the Holy Spirit, I pray that out of Your glorious riches you would strengthen me with power in my inner being so that I might fully offer myself to You. I pray that I would be rooted and established in love, that I might grasp how wide and long and high and deep Your love is. I believe that you are able to do far more than I can imagine by Your power that is now working in me.       Lord, I ask you to transform my mind and my spirit daily, that I might receive the blessings and opportunities you have planned for me. I choose to step out in faith knowing that You hold the future and You have plans for my life for good and not for evil. When the world sends out hate, help me to love. When the past won’t let go, help me to remember Your grace. When the enemy taunts with lies and surrounds me with darkness, help me to stay in your light.                                                                   Lord, when a relationship feels broken or I’m betrayed or rejected, help me to forgive by the power of Your Spirit. By faith, I move through the new doors which you are opening before me, that no one will be able to shut. The power of Your presence in me, prepares my path before me and strengthens me so that I can succeed and prosper, even when it seems impossible, even when it doesn’t make sense, I know that You are the same yesterday, today and forever, and you will do exceedingly above and beyond what I think or ask, In Jesus name, Amen!

Now let’s close by just taking time to pray for one another as the Lord tells us, if two or three shall agree as touching anything, it shall be done....

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