The keys of the kingdom

Matthew 16:17-19 - Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it. 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.

We have already discussed in great detail the first two of the three phrases in this passage: the foundation and the identity of the church, and the gates of hell. Now, it is time to turn our attention to the third phrase in the passage. God tells us that He will give us “the keys of the kingdom of heaven”. What are the keys?

Key #1 - Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven
Key #2 - Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven

What are the keys for? They are a Divine battle strategy we are to employ against our enemy on behalf of ourselves, our family, and those whom God brings to us. The keys have to do with dominion: ruling and reigning on the earth over everything on the earth in fulfillment of the mandate God gave the man and the woman in Genesis 1:28, a mandate Jesus expanded in Luke 10:19 to include the unseen realm.

It has been my experience that there are many in the body of Christ who have heard of this strategy but are uncertain as to how to put it into practice. The Amplified Bible gives us some additional details:

Whatever you bind [forbid, declare to be improper and unlawful] on earth will have [already] been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose [permit, declare lawful] on earth will have [already] been loosed in heaven.

The principle is this: what we are to do on the earth is intended to bring down into our present circumstances what already exists as a reality in heaven!

From the passage in Matthew, we can harvest several principles that describe the nature - the scope and characteristics - of the authority we have been given and why it is so successfully destructive against all the works of the enemy.

Principle Number One
Our confession of Jesus Christ as the Son of God is the solid foundation on which God builds His church. The church is not a building nor is the church a specific group.  God says we are “the temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19) so that means we – individually - are the church!  The verses in Matthew are speaking specifically to each one of us as individual believers. We are the church; we are the Bride of Christ. Authority is linked to identity and this is our identity.
 
Principle Number Two
 
The gates of hell (Hades) will never be able to resist a direct assault by the church, the blood-bought Bride of Christ.  Why? Because Jesus defeated death and Hades at the cross and hung them out to dry, making a public spectacle of them (Colossians 2:15). 
 
Ephesians 1:20-23 - God’s mighty power raised Jesus from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given (all the demonic realm, emphasis mine), not only in the present age (the here and now) but also in the one to come (the age outside of time). And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
 
We (the church) are now seated in Christ in the heavenly realms at the right hand of the Father (Ephesians 2:6) until He makes all our enemies (the demonic realm) a footstool under our feet (Psalm 110:1). Ruling and reigning is linked to position and this is our position.
 
Principle Number Three
 
He has given to us, His church, the keys of the Kingdom.  That’s because we are the rightful heirs of the Kingdom along with Jesus (Romans 8:17). Having the keys is a picture of authority. Keys lock and unlock gates, doors, enclosures, and prison cells.  Jesus was given all authority in heaven and on the earth (Matthew 28:18) because Jesus came to destroy all the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).  Jesus has delegated His authority to us, His church, so that we may carry on the work He began - that of destroying all the works of the devil (Luke 10:19).  Inheritance is linked to destiny and this is our destiny.

Principle Number Four
Jesus took the keys of death and Hades from satan at the cross (Revelation 1:18), and that means satan no longer has the keys. Jesus said he will give us, His church, the keys. To those who receive the keys (the authority we have been given in Christ) God has promised that nothing satan can launch against us will be able to shut us down (Isaiah 54:17).  We are supposed to use these keys to lock up satan and all his agents, forbidding them from carrying out their wicked schemes against us, while we go into his house and set the captives free. When Jesus gave us the keys, he was conferring upon us a greater level of authority in the heavens (the atmosphere) and on the earth than the devil once possessed. He was acknowledging that we are His Bride. Relationship with Jesus Christ is linked to victory and this is our victory.
 
Setting the Atmosphere
 
Satan is the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2).  That means he operates in the heavenly realm we call the “atmosphere”.  Atmosphere is defined by Webster as “the whole mass of air surrounding the earth: the air of a locality; a surrounding influence or environment, as in an atmosphere of hostility”.
 
The inner healing session is meant to be a truth encounter between the client and the Lord Jesus Christ. We do not want to have to deal with a manifesting demon whose intentions are to disrupt and distract us from the opportunity Jesus has made available to us. Therefore, we take authority over the atmosphere so that all the devil’s assignments launched against us are thwarted.  He will not be able to hit his target, because our declaration has already intervened and cut him off.  That is called a pre-emptive strike!
 
At the very beginning of the inner healing session, we take authority over the atmosphere and establish the Lordship of Jesus Christ over the session.  We do this by submitting our will, our rights and all control to the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
The strategy Jesus presented in Matthew 16:19 presents a two-step process we employ in the inner healing ministry session.  For everything we bind, we must also loose something to take its place. We do not want to leave the atmosphere empty; rather we want to fill it with the presence of God. Satan has been known to circle back and reclaim territory he finds clean and unguarded.
 
When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. (Matthew 12:43-45).
 
First - we bind the enemy: powers, principalities, rulers, authorities, dominions and thrones and all demonic realms assigned to us from the moment of our conception, we silence his voice, we cancel all his assignments against the client (and the facilitator as well), we separate him from the client and we put him in a holding cell guarded by angels, thus limiting his power to influence the client or the session. 

Second - we loose the seven-fold Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, and the Spirit of knowledge and of the reverential fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2) to fill the atmosphere with the nature of God so that the purposes of God may be accomplished throughout the session and within the client. 

This two-step process is a powerful and effective prayer when used by righteous (having the right heart and mind) men and women to overcome the presence of the spiritual forces of wickedness in high places and on the earth. We need to remember that satan is a defeated foe, and God has given us every tool we need to keep him in his place.

Once we have disarmed the enemy, the next step is intended to remove every offense the enemy has ever used against us whether that offense came through a broken relationship or a traumatic event – and that means he will have no place to circle back around to because the gate has been closed and locked with the keys of righteousness - forgiveness and repentance.
 
The Keys of Righteousness – Forgiveness and Repentance     
           
Exodus 12:7, 12-13 – “They are to take some of the blood (of the Passover lamb) and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses…On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn – both men and animals – and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you.”

It is easy for us to see that the blood on the top of the doorframes was the covering to protect the Israelites from the Angel of Death during that night.  But why do you think God had the Israelites put the blood of the sacrificial lamb on both doorposts?

I believe God was giving us a picture of how we are to be in relationship with Him (the blood on the top signifying the completed work of the Sacrificial Lamb) and how we are to be in relationship with each other (the blood on both doorposts signifying our relationship with one another through forgiveness and repentance.) The blood on the top was God’s forgiveness for our sins as we repent; the blood on both sides was our appropriating what God had done for us and extending that same love to one another.

John 13:34-35 – A  new  command I give you: Love  one another.  As I  have loved you, so you must love one another. All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.

God’s plan from the beginning was that we would be in right relationship with Him and in right relationship with each other. That is how the world (the unbelievers) will know who God is and what He has done for them through His Son, Jesus (John 17:23). We obey this commandment by forgiving others for their sins against us and repenting for the sins we have committed.

Unfortunately, many Christians choose not to obey this commandment! I have personally heard people who never miss a church service say, “I’ll forgive them, but I won’t forget what they did.” Unfortunately, that is not forgiveness.  How would we feel if that is the way God dealt with us? God’s way of dealing with us is found in the following verse:

1 Corinthians 13:5 - Love …keeps no record of wrongs.

We were made in the image of God. We learned that the word “image” means shadow or representative figure.  If God doesn’t keep a list of wrongs, neither should we.

Let’s look at John 20:23 in three different translations so we can get a clear and complete picture of how God would have us represent Him on the earth.

(NIV)   If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.

(NKJV)  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain (or remember) the sins of any, they are retained (remembered, not forgotten).

(MSG) If you forgive someone’s sins, they’re gone for good. If you don’t forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?

This verse is talking about the authority we have been given as a believer and with that authority comes accountability.

What we forgive on earth has already been forgiven in heaven; that is the power of the authority we hold as believers! I am therefore accountable before the throne of God for what I do on earth! For everything that someone else did to me, I must forgive them in order to remain in right standing before God.

To forgive someone means that I must also release them from my desire that they be punished for what they did. If what they did to me comes up in my mind every time I think of that person or see that person, I am witnessing the evidence that I have not completed my assignment to forgive them. I have not released them from my unfair, self-centered, and unrighteous judgment into the fair, impartial and righteous judgment of God who will handle the matter properly.

Luke 6:37b-38 – Forgive, and you will be forgiven….For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

If I choose not to forget what they did, refusing to place the matter in God’s hands and leaving it there, then God says I will be the guilty party and I will receive the judgment I thought they deserved. Forgiveness not only sets the offender free from his captivity, it also releases me from an eternal prison sentence.

If I choose not to forgive, John 20:23 says the sin will be retained BY ME!  That means it will be passed down as an iniquity through my bloodline! The giants I fail to take care of in my life will be left for my children to face!

When I do not forgive others, I am sitting in judgment of them. That means I am putting myself in the place only God has the legal right to occupy.

Unforgiveness leads me into the sins of judging, condemning and finding fault with others. Those sins not repented of lead to bitterness, anger, jealousy, rage, malice and finally, murder. God set the standard we are to follow: Love keeps no record of wrongs. He says judging others for what they have done to me is sin, and God is serious about this matter. Judging others for what they have done is not forgiveness. Finding fault with others who don’t measure up to my standard is not repentance. Both of these are evidence that my eyes are on me and not on the Lord.

God has used the following Old Testament passage to show me in a very real and personal way how He views it when I allow myself to judge another person’s behavior.  

2 Samuel 6:16, 23 - As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal (David’s wife) daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart (i.e., judged his behavior) …And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death. 

Michal paid dearly for her judgment of her husband and God imposed the sentence. When man and woman were created, God told them to multiply and fill the whole earth. To be cut off from child bearing meant that she had no future relationship with the King and no hope of ever receiving the promises of God.

In order for me to receive the blessings of the fullness of the life in Christ that were promised and prepared for me, I need to be quick to forgive and repent for how I allowed what they did to affect me.

Matthew 5:23 - If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

God is saying that as long as there is an issue between me and someone else, my gifts to Him will be worthless. It is never too late to forgive and repent. Too often, we expect the one who wounded us to come to us first, but God says, “You be the one; you take the first step toward healing and reconciliation.”

Joel 2:12 – “Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning” … for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.

Unforgiveness is a gate keeper and his role is to keep the individual in a prison cell. The difference between being a captive and being a prisoner is this:
            A captive is held because of something someone else did.
            A prisoner is held because of something they did.
Both are in prison. Jesus came to set the captives free and to proclaim release to the prisoners (Isaiah 61:1). The way we cooperate with Him in this work is by forgiving and repenting. I cannot be free if I do not set others free.

In the inner healing process, we have the client forgive everyone who hurt them and every hurtful thing that happened to them, and we have them repent for how they allowed those people and those events to affect them. In this way, we apply the blood to both of the doorposts. The result is that the client lays down many of the burdens they have carried all their lives, and they suddenly feel free – maybe for the first time in their lives.

Forgiveness and repentance are the keys of righteousness; they are how we get free and how we stay free. Remember Jesus’ last words on the cross?

Luke 23:34 – “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Now that you know, what are you going to do with this knowledge? Knowledge must be put into practice in our everyday lives and everyday situations. God gave us these tools and He intended us to practice them until they become our primary response to every lie and every tactic the enemy uses against us to rob us of our peace, our security, and our significance. Rise up, you Mighty Warriors! Be bold and courageous for the Kingdom has been given to you!

Blessings,
Linda

(c) March 2019 Linda Sue Harper




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