Keys
Our sons have keys to our house and we have keys to theirs. We have entrusted them with everything that we have behind locked doors. We have given them permission to enter our house. Even if we are not there.
Whenever Keys are given out to someone you are giving them complete permission to enter.
You are exposing all of your possessions. You are trusting that these people don’t just come in and rob you.
It’s permission and trust!
Jesus ask something interesting.
Matthew 16:13-19
When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 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.”
Matthew 16:13-19 NKJV
The keys of the kingdom are God’s gift to His people to go and tell,and to speak on heaven’s verdict on who will and will not enter the Kingdom. There are many people that will claim that there are many ways to Heaven and try to use different keys to turn the lock of Heavens door.
But there is only One!
It is only Jesus Christ of Nazareth that had the authority and ability to hand out these Keys.
He offers the Keys to all who put all their trust and faith and turn from their own ways and repents from sins and makes Jesus the ruler and Lord of their lives,He gives them the keys to the Kingdom. That key unlocks the Treasures of Heaven, Eternal Life with Him!
Before Jesus gives complete permission to enter the kingdom He has a personal question.
“But who do you say that I am?”
It is one thing for others to say who they think Jesus is. But who do you say Jesus is?
All of Christianity lives and dies on this one question. If we get this question wrong like the others, what would be their fate. If they answer this question right we live out the rest of our lives believing that who He says He is is true then the permission and trust to handle the Keys of the Kingdom will be handed over to you!
It is all based on the response to the gospel and the one question that Jesus asks. Who do you say I am?
And Peter speaks for the group and confesses,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
How you answer this question in your life will determine where you will spend eternity once you take your last breath on this earth.
Who do you say He is?
He is the Son of the Living God. He is Truth! Truth comes only by this One that is The Way, The Truth and The Life. And Scripture says that no one comes to the Father except through Him.
He was born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered punishment for my sins. And was given the death sentence of a Criminal, to die on the Cross. And when He died they buried Him in a borrowed tomb. And on the Third Day, He rose from the dead. And
The Glorious Keys to Kingdom are held in the Hands of the One that Hung on the Cross and took the punishment that we deserved. The first to raise from the dead. The One who rules and reigns now and forever. And He will come again to judge all, living and dead. And His Kingdom will have no end! Because He is from everlasting to everlasting. And through Him I have freedom from sin,shame and even death itself. I owe everything to Him,not just because of His Sacrifice but because who He is!
That’s who Jesus of Nazareth is!
If we don’t get this right there is nothing else that we will get right when it comes to the Word of God!
When we have the privilege to carry the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven we have a responsibility to use these precious Keys to unlock as many hearts as we can. Jesus is trusting us and giving us permission to lead them to the saving Knowledge of the Gospel.
So when we speak the Word of Jesus faithfully we will turn the Key of the Kingdom of Heaven in the lives of those whose hearts are locked. Locked out of the salvation,grace,love and mercy that is found in Jesus.
So my question is this;
Who do you say He is?
Do you have the Keys to the Kingdom?
Take these Keys and use them to unlock the locked up and locked out hearts that need to be freed in Jesus name!
Pastor Ed