February 22, 2005
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Tonight is another Bible study. I have been going over old Bible Study notes to look for things that will help me research what my pastor asked me to work on. I came across this gem of a study (a sort of oldie but goodie).
Matthew 16: 13-19 The Keys of the Kingdom.
This is where Peter recognizes Christ as Messiah and Jesus tells him that upon this rock I will establish my church. And says that he will give Peter the Keys of the kingdom.
Now Keys unleash power so with receiving keys comes responsibility. Peter showed he was responsible when He recognized Christ for who he was, the Messiah.
Our pastor pointed out that we all have spiritual key rings with keys that we can use, although often we do not use them. He gave a list of five keys. I am curious if you can come up with other keys because this is by no means an exhaustive list. It would be cool to discover others.
1. NAME OF JESUS – John 16, ask in Jesus’ name and receive, that your joy may be full. We unlock and unleash God’s power in prayer. Act 3 – Peter says silver and gold I have not, but such as I have, I will give to you, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up. Our pastor pointed out that Jesus probably walked past this same crippled man, and Peter probably passed him often going to and from the temple, but at this particular moment it was the right time to release the name of Jesus. Often we say at the end of prayer, “In the Name of Jesus,” but it is said sort of unthinkingly. That when it is the right time, right place, then the name of Jesus has the power to free.
2. WORD OF FAITH – Romans 10, the word is nigh, even in the mouth and heart. Heb. 11:1 Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. The word of faith for creation. Many live in negativity, depression, despair,. How do we get the word of faith, from hearing. Heb 4:12 the written word of God is the sword, we must speak the word of God for it to work. Shouting releases power, example Gideon and his battle when his troops brook the lamps and shouted, confusing the enemy. The enemy does not like to hear the word of faith, it leads the enemy into confusion.
3. BLOOD OF THE LAMB- Revelation 12:10-11, talks about satan, the accuser of the brethren, accusing us day and night, and Rev. 12:11 satan is overcome by the blood of the Lamb. Leviticus 8 talks about the high priest going into the Holy of Holies, before going in he had to put blood of the sacrificial lamb on his right thumb, right ear, and right big toe. so that he was cleansed of what he did (thumb) heard (ear) and the places he walked (big toe). We have to remember to plead the blood of the lamb on our situation. Many Christians fall short, repenting of their sins, and being sorry, but not letting the blood of the lamb cleanse them.
4. PRAYING IN TONGUES OR PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT- I know this one is a bit controversial to some. Our church does pray in tongues, based on the following scriptures, I Cor 12, 14, Acts 2, 4, 8, 9, 10, 19. Paul stated that he prayed in tongues more than all. In our private prayer life tongues can be edifying, but in church they must be done in order. Please do not turn this post into a debate about tongues. Many very spiritual people do not pray in tongues and work very effectively in the Kingdom, some do. I think that it has to be done in order, not disruptively. If this is not a key for you, ignore it. When we pray in the Holy Spirit, the Spirit knows what to pray when we are confused, hurting and don’t know how to pray. Praying in the Spirit is able to release so much bondage.
5. PRAYING WITH FASTING – The demons that Jesus said needed to be cast out with prayer and fasting. Fasting can focus our energy towards God and things spiritual. As with any tool it can be overused or used wrongly. But if the focus is to be ready spritually and worship God fasting is a powerful key.
Now to be perfectly honest with you, I fall very short on using these keys. I am familiar with them, and often find myself in the midst of a crisis and forget that I have these keys dangling from my belt. I pray that as time goes on I wield them a lot more than I do. Hope this is helpful, and I would love to learn of any other spiritual keys you know of.
Heather
Comments (6)
NO. I’m sorry but NO. The word for ‘you’ in that verse (“I give you the keys”) is NOT singular – it’s plural. Peter was NOT given the keys… the disciples were. That’s such a Catholic teaching and it’s so wrong I can’t begin to tell you. They wanted Peter to be the ‘head’ of the church – the first “Pope” and this is their key verse to try to justify papal infallibility… and he is no more than any other disciple. ALL of them were given the keys. You just touched on a highly controversial contention point.
I don’t know about these other ‘keys’ you mention… I just don’t picture God being ‘accessible’ by specific keys any more than anything else. I read a lot about that kind of thing in books like He came to Set the Captive Free, but being written by ex-Satanists (who use ‘mediums’ such as tarot, ouija, etc. as ‘keys’ to the supernatural), I wonder if they aren’t just trying to find new ‘holy mediums’ to utilize to access God. He doesn’t work that way. Moses accessed His very presence without any of the above. And while they are things a believer does to ‘participate’ with God’s will, He is present and working regardless. Hrm.
The Blood of Christ is key, but is it ‘a’ key…???
Anna, I guess I did not present this properly. Of course it was not just Peter who received the keys but also everyone who is a believer.
As far as keys, I was thinking figuratively. Not that we can manipulate God with them, but to remember that we have these gifts (keys) that we can use.
Hope that clears that up.
Heather
i’m not sure what you meant by your comment on my site. what do you mean “if this doesn’t work?”
I don’t know that I’d agree that these things are “the keys of the kingdom” referred to in Matthew 16, but that would ultimately be a small quibble in this context. The five you list (:whispering: yes I include tongues! :-O) are certainly things through which the power of God works in the lives of believers, which I think was the main point. A few more that come to mind are:
- Forgiveness toward others: Colossians 3:13, Luke 17:3-4, *Mark 11:25-26, Matt 18:21-35. If we do not forgive those who sin against us, we will be hindered from receiving God’s forgiveness of our own sins. Unforgiveness in our hearts allows the devil to gain control of our attitude. Forgiveness and love for your enemies is the key to a great deal of spiritual freedom that cannot come otherwise.
- Christ’s intercession for us: Hebrews 7:25 et al. This of course is not something that we use in the sense of consciously relying on it, but it’s definitely a major factor in our successful spiritual life. We’re not dependent only on our own prayers: Jesus Himself is continually praying to His Father for us!
- Accepting the Promises of God: 2 Peter 1:4, 2 Corinthians 1:20. If God promises something, He will do it. The Bible is filled with promises that apply every situation; therefore, what we need to do is identify them and then act on them. (This is ultimately kind of a roundabout way of saying “faith”. If we have faith in God Himself, then we must logically conclude that we can have faith that God will do what He says.)
- Surrender to God’s Will: This is essential for faith in Christ (John 7:17), as well as spiritual warfare (James 4:7), God’s guidance (James 1:5-6), and many other things. It simply means wanting what God wants and being willing to act on it.
I’m sure there are more that would give us many good lessons, but that’s all the time I can spend right now. R. A. Torrey has an excellent book called How to Obtain the Fullness of Power for Life and Service, which I highly recommend for more teachings like these (and no doubt much better than mine!). Clicking the link will take you to my Archive of Torrey’s writings that has many fantastically good sermons on these things…..
–Eric
I am at work at the moment, so I will let others enjoy the question of the keys.
I know you said not to get into the controversy, but I just wanted to thank you about what you said about tongues and order. I have been to churches where people have told me if you don’t speak in tongues, you don’t have the Holy Spirit, as if this is the only way He manifests Himself in believers. I do believe in the gifts of the Spirit, and believers are given gifts according to their purpose. The gift of tongues is one of many beautiful gifts that the Holy Spirit gives.
I was a word of faith minister for several years before I started questioning what I was being taught. The first thing I noticed was their tendency to take scripture out of context to teach what they wanted to believe; & the second thing was their tendency to ceny the sovereignty of God with their teaching. Please examine anything you’re being taught along these lines very closely. Please read the whole passage that’s being quoted from in these teachings, & not just a verse or 2 here & there. I mean this in a loving manner.
Wayne Freeman
getrealwithgod
Please feel free to email me @ any time: waynefreeman1950@yahoo.com