Binding up and Letting Loosing
By Rev Stanley Baker
Matthew 16:13-20
During the time of Jesus the caring of keys was a symbol of the delegated power of opening and closing.
The Apostles were given keys of a sort and the power to bind and loose.
Peter loosed the feet of the lame man at the Gate of Beautiful.
Act 3:6
Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
Peter unlocked the power of heaven and the lame man walked for the very first time.
And Paul bound the sight of Bar-Jesus
Act 13:11
And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
Paul called upon the Lord and Bar-Jesus was struck blind
Paul took the key of site and used it in a way that made pagan deputy accept that the Lord Jesus was the Lord and savior.
Can I tell you this morning that when the sprit of the Lord comes into the house and the power starts to flow, all the powers of hell itself have to pay attention.
Isa 61:1
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
Isa 61:2
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Let me say like this:
Pro 6:21
Bind them continually upon thine heart
In other word I must preach to about the Cross-and what it stands for
I must preach about the blood and what it is
And I must come into the house of God and tell you that Jesus is on his way
Or I will not be doing what God told me to do.
I have a Key that has been give to me by The Almighty one and I have to use it.
Now, I don’t know about you, but there’s nothing more frustrating for me than to go to unlock a door and find that I haven’t got the key.
So I have a solution to that problem.
You know what it is?
That’s right, I make spares.
They’re not a key ring.
They’re hidden all over the place,
Right where I know where they are,
So that if I misplace these keys,
I’ve got backups.
I’ve got spare keys that I don’t carry on a key ring.
But there’s another set of keys
I don’t’ have them in my pocket,
and they’re not hidden around the house the Church or my truck.
That set of keys is the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus told Peter
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven;
whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven
Jesus gave me and you a set of these keys
The Keys Jesus talked about with Peter were to serve two purposes:
What was bound (or locked up) on earth would be bound in heaven
And that which was loosed (or unlocked) on earth would be loosed in heaven.
And Peter did exactly that with those Keys.
On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles and they began to speak in languages they’d never spoken.
A large crowd gathered to see this new thing… and guess who stands up to preach a sermon?
Peter
3000 people repented of their sins and are baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins.
Several days later,
Peter and John are going to the Temple to pray when they meet and heal a crippled man.
Again a large crowd gathers - and guess who stands up to preach?
Peter
And as a result of Peter’s boldness the church grew to more than 5000.
In Acts 10,
Peter is sent by God to the household of a Roman Centurion to preach to him and to a large crowd of Gentiles that had gathered at his home.
Before the day is done Peter - and the 6 friends who came with him - baptized everybody in the audience.
Why did Jesus give the keys to Peter?
Because Peter would use them.
Again and again in the book of Acts, Peter was the “point man”.
Peter opened doors for the crowd at Pentecost
He opens the doors for the crowd at the Temple
And he opens the doors for the crowd at Cornelius’ home.
But Peter WASN’T the only follower of Christ given permission to bind & loose/lock & unlock.
In Matthew 18,
Jesus’ disciples come to Jesus and ask Him: “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
:
"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.
For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
They all had authority to use those keys.
And those keys to the Kingdom of Heaven were all about locking and unlocking things on earth –
and Peter wasn’t the only guy who was allowed to drive the bus.
Philip opened the door for salvation in Samaria.
And Paul and Barnabas and Silas and Timothy and Titus opened the doors in Greece and Turkey.
Matthew opened the door into Ethiopia.
And Thomas opened the door in India.
Peter had keys… but we all have Keys.
Those same keys may not be on your key ring or mine,
but we have been granted authority
by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords
to bind and loose – lock and unlock.
it means we have the ability to unlock the doors for people to come to Christ.
Just like Peter, James and John - and Paul and Barnabas and Silas.
Now, those men had the big names.
But their keys were no bigger than ours.
They’ve had their turn at driving the bus… but they’re dead now.
Now it’s your turn
Just before Jesus ascended into heaven
He gave us our marching orders.
go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age
Your job is to unlock the door.
Then it’s up to them if they walk through it to accept Christ.
Your power to lock and unlock thing means you have the keys to unlock the power of prayer.
God hasn’t given you this privilege without giving you some tools.
The last thing I want to mention is that the Keys of the Kingdom were given us to lock the door on Satan.
Revelation 12:11 tells us
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Satan doesn’t have power over us if we cling to the blood of Jesus
Those are our keys:
His Blood – Our Testimony
We’re in a battle against Satan.
The keys we have - give us power over Him.
Matthew 16:18 Jesus said
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
In other words he said That I am The only true living Son of God and upon this rock I will build my Church and even the very Gates of hell cannot prevail against it
It means: one of the reasons Jesus created the church was to attack the gates of Hell.
He intended the church to take the fight to the enemy.
Paul writes:
2Co 10:4
(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2Co 10:5
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
We’re fighting Satan,
and we have the weapons to get the job done.
Every locked door has a key.
But who has the key to that gate?
Who is it that can unlock the gates of Hell?
Rev 1:18
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Jesus Has the keys
Jesus is the one who died on the cross to open the gates.
The gates of hell can’t prevail against Him and His kingdom BECAUSE He’s already broken the power of sin and death.
That’s the one key you and I don’t have…
because that key was bought on the cross.
that key was used in the grave
and that key unlocked the very gates of hell and death.
If you have your keys with you today… take them out now.
Take the key to your car and hold it up.
The next time you put that key into the ignition of your car will you remember that God has given you the key of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel.”
As you turn that key in the ignition will you say to the Lord,
“I’m going again into my world; help me to tell someone about you.”
Now hold your house key in your hand.
Visualize yourself putting it into the lock on your front door.
Each time you come to that door will you again commit to the Lord that you will use the key of the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of your testimony.
As you open your front door will you say to the Lord, “you have opened the door of salvation to me–I promise to tell others what you have done for me.”
I’m telling you this morning that the keys that your hold in your sprit and heart are the same keys that
Peter, Paul, Barnabas, Silas, Timothy and Titus had.
But know one can use them but you.
They were given to you
What are you going to do with them?
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