Matthew 16:19 – Part 2 – HOW TO UNLOCK THE DOORS TO UNLIMITED RESOURCES
The morning looks sleepily into the mirror, wipes away the mist so the boats on the other side of the Bay are vaguely visible, stretches it’s shadowy arms across the beach and offers me a cup of coffee as I prepare to face the day. Holidays. Glorious holidays! Bateman’s Bay and an apartment on the beach. Beautiful.
They looked so insignificant when we received them from the owner, but her keys supplied us with the authority of her house and to the view from the full length windows leading onto the beach, of beautiful rock features nearby stretching out into the water; the resources of heavens bounty.
Matthew 16:19 (NLT) says “And I will give you (Peter) the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”
Jesus, owner of heaven and earth, speaks of the Keys of the Kingdom. Keys to open doors of faith? Yes. But there is a wider vista. “…faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17 KJV). Jesus said “Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old” (Matthew 13:51-52 NLT).
2. KEYS TO OPEN UP TRUTH
Jesus gives Peter the authority of a homeowner with a storeroom full of treasures. Only an entrusted servant can hold the keys to a house bearing the treasures of God’s purposes on earth. What an incredible honour to be entrusted with such keys. It is a sign of authority to bring “new gems of truth as well as old” from the room of His riches.
Peter was the first man who had the insight of heaven concerning the New Covenant, a new gem of truth. Jesus said “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because My Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being” (Matthew 16:17 NLT).
The keys committed to Peter are not the keys of earth, but the keys of heaven. Peter demonstrates that new treasures of truth from the storeroom of God’s kingdom can be shared. Peter is to transcribe heaven’s perspective on earth; the legacy of love, to reveal it’s gems to us. He is used by God to unlock the doors through inspired teachings, some of which are included in the New Testament. Peter becomes a scribe instructed by the authority of heaven.
When we declare the purposes of God and live according to God’s truth, we are also bearers of the keys. The Spirit of Truth enables our decisions on earth to correspond with the decisions of heaven. “Whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19 NLT). Our discernment of good and evil is no longer based on law but on relationship with Jesus, the Messiah, Son of the Living God. He gives us a moral compass and standard for living which cuts across all other standards. When God’s Word declares it, it is no longer in dispute.
The invitation is to find God’s truth and live it out, to help others understand God’s purposes, to interpret His will in everyday living, to allow God to be our counsellor, our teacher, to be loosed by a law of love to serve God, not bound by our culture or whatever is most popular.
We have authority through our relationship with Christ to be loosed from any captivity of our past, or slavery of our wills in the present, or any despotic imposition that would cause our hearts and minds to miss the mark in the future.
The invitation is to trust in Him who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Once and for all the key slides into the deadbolt across the corrugations of metal and is turned. Can you hear the soft click of metal as it aligns itself with perfect precision? Can you feel the bolt slide smoothly until the door is released? The storeroom of truth is opened to those who accept the keys.
They look so insignificant when we receive them from the owner, but His keys supply us with the authority of His house and to the view from the full length windows leading into His purposes, and the magnificent expanses of His truth available to us from His Word; the resources of heavens bounty.
Pastor Ross
