WHAT KEYS DO YOU HOLD?
by Pastor Jim May
There are many types of “keys” in the world. There are islands that are called “keys”, like those in the Gulf of Mexico at the tip of the Florida Peninsula. There are keys that are points of knowledge that open the understanding to science and mathematics. There are keys, or steps that must be taken, or procedures followed in order to make machinery work. There are keys that are used to unlock or lock a door or a gate. There are keys that are on musical instruments and on office equipment, and then there are keys that are used to turn something on or off.
One of the most memorable moments of my life was the moment that I was handed the keys to the car for the very first time. It was as though there was a birth of freedom and an instant increase in trust that was placed in me. For a teenager, this marks the beginning of a whole new kind of freedom. It’s as though they have suddenly come of age and are ready now to take on the world.
Now that I have been on the other side of this scenario, 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 have had the opportunity to hand over the keys to my car or truck to my children, and while I trust them to do the right thing and take care of the vehicles that I give or loan to them, there is always that same sense of dread that arises when I see them drive away. I can only compare that feeling, at that moment, with the feeling I would have if I left a baby in the hands of a known child molester. They never drive away without my saying a fervently, effectual prayer for their safety and for the return of a fully functional vehicle that has not been rearranged in some manner.
A key is a wonderful thing, but placed in the hands of the wrong person, or used in the wrong manner, it can also become a dangerous thing. Like most things in life, a key is simply a tool, to be either used or abused. It isn’t the key that is the problem; it is the man or woman who wields the key that determines its use. A key to the bank vault in the hands of a teller is necessary to gain access to the wealth of the depositors when they need to deposit or withdraw. But that key to the bank vault in the hands of a thief becomes a very dangerous thing indeed. In an instant, he can bring financial disaster to the bank and all of its depositors. Thank God for depositor’s insurance, but no matter how you look at it, that key causes a lot of damage to someone.
One of the most wonderful verses in the Bible contains a promise from the lips of Jesus Christ to His disciples is concerning some “keys” that He has entrusted to each of us.
Matthew 16:18-19, "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. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Jesus was speaking directly 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 a set of keys to the Kingdom of Heaven and now it is up to us what we will do with those keys.
Notice that Jesus said that you have the power over those keys and what they will accomplish. First, the words, “whatsoever thou salt bind on earth, shall be bound in Heaven”, is a phrase that points to the fact that we can use the keys of the kingdom to lock something, or someone, in or out of Heaven. Now that’s a serious thought to know that you hold the key to someone’s eternal destiny, but that’s exactly what it means.
Secondly, Jesus also said, “whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven”. I don’t know about you but that concerns me somewhat. What things can I let loose, or give access to the kingdom of Heaven through the church, that may cause damage to the kingdom of God. All in all, this is a very serious business, and a very serious responsibility that you and I have to make sure that the keys Jesus has given to us are used wisely.
Now, before we go any further with this message on the keys that Jesus has given you to hold and use, let me make one thing perfectly clear. You and I do not hold the only keys to the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus has His key too and it is His key that really counts.
Revelation 3:7-8, "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name."
Jesus, through his death, burial and resurrection, has taken final possession of the key to the door of Heaven. In other words, He has made the way for us to enter in if we so desire and there is nothing, or no one that can lock or unlock that open door again. It is forever open to whosoever will enter there.
Another set of keys that Jesus has full possession of contains the keys of death and of hell.
Revelation 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 is the resurrection and the life, and He is the Righteous Judge. It is He who has the power to give us new life and eternal life, and it is He who has the power to pronounce eternal death as well. He can lock and unlock the grave and He can forever shut the door to Hell. Jesus will use those keys at the end of time to end the reign of death over the lives of men, and to forever seal the fate of those in Hell. Jesus has reserved the keys to the gates of Heaven, and of death and Hell, only for His use. Those kinds of keys cannot be entrusted to fallible human hands. That kind of power can too easily corrupt event the most faithful disciple.
How many of you can think of someone, or something, that you would like to lock away in the grave or in hell right now? Maybe there would be some serial killer, or child molester, or murderous dictator; or perhaps your boss in a moment of anger; or someone else that you would immediately lock away if you had the key. Thank God that we don’t have those keys, Amen?
But Jesus did give us some keys to the kingdom of Heaven, and He gave us the power to use those keys as we saw fit. What are those keys and how should we use them?
Here are a few of those keys and I hope to help you to understand what they are and how they work. Remember, 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 by allowing those things to be the same in Heaven. He will allow us to make certain decisions that will stand in the courts of Heaven by His authority.
(1) The Key of Salvation
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, they have an unlocked and open door to either accept Christ or to turn and walk away.
Now the door to Heaven is always open but we hold the key to opening their hearts and minds to step through the door that Jesus has provided. That sinner can’t come to Christ unless the Holy Spirit draws him, and when you use the key of the message of the Gospel, at that moment, the Holy Spirit is drawing them in, ever so gently.
If we tell someone about Jesus, opening the door with that key, I can almost see the angels waiting breathlessly, and Jesus looking down so lovingly and gently gesturing for that soul to enter in. I can see the door of the kingdom of Heaven swung open wide and the choirs of Heaven are standing and waiting for that sinner to make his decision.
If he decides to enter in, all of Heaven bursts forth with praise and singing, worshipping Jesus because one more sinner has found his way home. What we have opened with a key and loosed in the earth has forever been loosed in Heaven and the portals of Glory ring with celebration.
But, if that sinner refuses to step through the door, and turns his back on the message of the gospel, then the door that you have opened with your key is closed and locked as the Holy Spirit walks away grieved at the lost opportunity for another soul to come home.
I wonder if all the angel in Heaven shed a tear, and the choir of Heaven looks down with saddened faces, and I have no doubt that Jesus, looking down with his eyes of such love, drops his hand in sorrow and sheds a tear because His open door was not used.
When that door shuts on earth, it is closed in Heaven too. We can only pray that the sinner who has turned his back on Jesus will get another chance to face that open door but there is no promise of another chance, just as there is no promise of tomorrow.
(2) The Key of Faith (We can also include here, the Key of Trusting God)
The Key of Faith is another key that you and I hold this morning. Faith is the key to opening and closing many doors as we walk through this life. In fact, the Key of Faith is so important that without it, we can’t please God or be a disciple at all.
How does the Key of Faith work? Faith works only if it is activated, or put into action. Faith without works, or action, is like having a key in your pocket that you never use. A key unused is worthless.
I have a lot of keys hanging around my house on a number of key rings. Many of those keys have been there for a long, long time but they have not been used for years. The reason is that I have forgotten what they fit. Perhaps they are for a door that once was on my home that I have changed, or a lock on a toolbox that has long since been discarded, or someone’s home that I once had access to but no longer go to. Whatever the case, those keys are useless and should be thrown away.
So why don’t I throw them away? Because I’m afraid I might need them one day and I won’t have them anymore. I just might find the lock that they fit, or have to go into the door that they will open.
A lot of people have the Key of Faith in their lives but that key is just sitting in their life unused and they may as well cast it away for all the good it is doing for them.
Some people can get physically ill, and they won’t take out that Key of Faith long enough to even believe that Jesus is still the Healer of their sicknesses. Some people get sick spiritually, and they don’t even take out that Key of Faith and believe God to bring them through victoriously. I have seen so many Christians whose Key of Faith has been so little used that it is rusty and useless because they can’t seem to believe God for anything.
If we use the Key of Faith and believe God for an answer to our prayer, then the door is opened and the answer to that prayer is on the way.
Matthew 21:22, "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."
Matthew 17:20, When the disciples asked Jesus why they could not cast out some demons that they had confronted, "… Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."
Did the disciples have the Key of Faith? Yes, they did, but they didn’t use the key and the their prayer to cast out the demon wasn’t answered.
If we open the door by using Faith to believe God for the answer, then the answer is loosed in Heaven and the thing we ask for will be done, if we ask according to the will of God in the first place. Using the Key of Faith isn’t meant to open the door for us to have anything and everything we want, only to have what God knows is right for us in the first place. We can’t use that key like a wish list at Christmas. It has to be used as God directs.
I was given the keys to the car, and that meant that I could use it to have some freedom and to go where I needed to go. But, how many of you parents just handed over the keys to the car to your teenage and then said, go and do whatever you want and I’ll pay for the insurance, gas and upkeep? Go and terrorize the world and have fun! I don’t think it happened that way at all.
When I was handed the keys, there were some pretty good restrictions on how I could use them. I could only use the car to go to school or to work, or maybe on a date with permission. I had better obey the laws of land, watch my speed, stop at every stop sign, obey the traffic laws, and keep it out of the ditch and off of other cars. I better not be spinning the tires, burning rubber at every takeoff, and I had better learn to use the brakes before I hit the back of the car in front of me. I better be home on time, or there will be no more using the car. I had to pay for my share of the gas, the insurance and take care of it the best I could.
My reaction was, “Oh man, if I have to do all that, what kind of freedom do I have? I can’t do this, I have to do that; I wanted more freedom, not a bunch of rules.”
That’s the kind of Faith that some people have. They want to be able to have anything and everything they desire. They take this scripture so literally that they are “believing” God for materialistic dreams and fantastic lifestyles. That’s not what the Key of Faith is for! The Key of Faith is for believing God to accomplish those things that are necessary for our Spiritual, Physical, and Mental well-being, and to see the Kingdom of Heaven grow in the hearts of all men.
If we believe God for miracles that are according to His will to accomplish a work for His Kingdom, then those miracles are loosed in Heaven to occur on the earth.
If we believe God for the binding of sin, or stopping of some sinful practice on earth, we know that it is always in God’s will for sin to cease, so the answer to that prayer will be loosed in Heaven and the sin will be bound by the power of God in Heaven and stopped on the earth as well.
If we believe God for healing, the healing power will be loosed in Heaven and the sickness will be bound on earth. If we believe God for anything according to His will, we know that the answer is coming because the Key of Faith has unlocked the door to allow the answer to come to us from Heaven.
(3) The Key of Love
There are a lot of other keys that we could talk about this morning, like Faithfulness, Obedience, Service, Worship, Commitment, etc., but the last key that I want to talk about this morning is the Key of Love.
Love is the most powerful force in the universe. God’s character - His total existence is described in that word “Love”.
1 John 4:8, "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." That means that we cannot say that a part of God is His ability to love unconditionally. Love is not a part of God’s character. He is Love, pure love, without qualifications. That God is Love is beyond our ability to fully comprehend for we only have a reference point of love in the earth that is always conditional no matter how much we try to say it isn’t. It’s hard for us to love as God loves. In fact, I am not convinced that we can, as long as we are in this body of flesh. Our love is always based upon our own emotions and they way that we are treated by others.
Even so, Love is a powerful Key. It is the key that marks the fact that we are disciples.
John 13:35, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
Love helps us to use all the other keys at our disposal. If we love God and use that Key of Love to open the channels of communication with God, then we can learn to be more like Jesus and to hear His voice and be used by Him. If we love our fellowman, then we will use that Key of Love to find every opportunity to open the door and reach out to them. If we love our brothers and sisters in Christ, we will use that Key of Love to be concerned for them, to pray for them and to be a friend to them.
Love for Jesus, causes us to use the key to unlock the door to Heaven and seek His will, and His blessings for all mankind. Whatever is loosed on earth in with the Key of Pure Love is most assuredly loosed in Heaven for pure love will only seek after God’s will and desire the best for every man.
The Key of Pure Love will also only seek to bind those things in the earth that are always detrimental to the welfare of mankind and to the growth of the Kingdom of God in the hearts of men, and so whatever is bound in earth will most assuredly be bound in Heaven by God’s Love as well.
Pure Love is never self-serving, hurtful or damaging to others. Pure Love seeks only after the perfect will of God and that is one powerful Key that we all can use.
God, help us to put this key to good use.
God has given us many keys that we can use to unlock a lot of doors for ourselves and for those around us. Let us pray for wisdom on how and when to use them. Let us seek to learn what those keys are and what they are useful for.
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 loose 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.
God, help us to know, to understand and to use the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven that you have given unto your disciples.
Perhaps there is someone here right now, that needs to be given a chance to enter through Jesus’ open door this morning. Let me not miss this opportunity to tell you that Jesus loves you. He died on the cross and purchased your salvation with his own blood. He wants to wash your sin away and make you His disciple. He has opened a door to the Kingdom of Heaven that no man can shut. It is up to you enter through that door of your own free will.
I want to use the Key of Salvation, to tell you the message of the gospel that the door may open for you.
The Holy Spirit is speaking to you right now.
Will you step through the door and come to Christ, confessing that you are a sinner and that you need Him?
Will you give your heart and life to Jesus this morning?
The door is open for now. Don’t let it close again without coming to Jesus. He is waiting for your answer right now, so come to Him.
