Do you have the right keys?
You have to
find the keys which open the locks, releasing the problems in your life, so you
can live in overthrow, never again to face the issues you’re facing now. When
you stand with Christ, the enemy must back off. The enemy is the weaker power.
He cannot stand under the greater strength and might of Jesus.
We need to
remove spiritual staleness. It’s easy to fall into staleness. It comes from a
lack of authority and power in our life, where we see nothing happen, where we
pray and achieve no results and we begin to believe God’s not going to work in
our life. We begin to think; ‘Perhaps all this God stuff is fine for someone
like Ms Super-Christian over there, but I’m not like them.’ Doubt creeps in.
Get rid of
the belief God can’t work in your life because…because of whatever excuse you
can think up. Church – this is your home (and I tap my heart here). This is the
place Jesus resides. It’s imperative you dethrone evil and you can’t dethrone
the evil, without Jesus.
We need to
influence the angelic realm, so as to control the earthly realm. When we decree
and declare a matter, which lines up with the promises of God, the angels move
into action. The church has spiritual dominion, delegated to it by Christ.
Jesus’s name has to be first. Jesus is in a class all by himself and He’s at
the top of His class. We all know this.
We also
know Jesus built the church and He gave the congregation the authority to act
on His behalf.
Individual
members come together and join to form a strengthened spiritual house, where
they can operate in such a way that even the gates of hell would not be able to
stand against it.
We are the
community which believes Jesus Christ is the Head; the community which bring
together such a force so as to see all prayer come to fruition, so much so that
not even Hades can stop it. This is why we need to belong to a church with
Christ at its helm. Jesus can’t help us, if we’re not part of His community.
We need to
stop trying to keep the devil off our backs and start commanding the devil
leave. Jesus never one said He’d try. Jesus was resolute. He declared a matter
and it was so.
The devil
is the devil and he will keep attacking us. This is a lifelong battle, unless
he can’t find an entry into our life. What we need to do is look at what Christ
has done. What did Christ do? He built His church. That puts us in the offence,
not the defence. It puts us in a place of victory not failure.
All of us
in this room are victorious if we are in Christ. That’s every one of you who’ve
accepted Christ as your Lord and Saviour. No exceptions. No excuses. Mr
Super-Christian over there; he has no more power and authority than you do. If
you are in Christ, you have all power and authority.
Hell has
gates, for it says in the bible; the gates of hell shall not prevail against us.
Hell has gates. Hell is a city with authority. The devil has been given
authority in this world and he uses our circumstances to turn our life upside
down. Our job is to stand with the One who took the keys back, the One who died
on the cross to save us from all that ails us.
Keys are to
open, unlock, enter, come out. They are the access to authority. Jesus was
crucified, went to Hades and took the keys back from the devil. Then Jesus gave
us the authority to access those keys.
We have the
keys, but don’t know how to use them. For every hellish gate there’s a
corresponding heavenly key. There is no problem in life to which God doesn’t
have a key. And for us to use them, all we need to do is have faith and wield
the sword of the word. It’s not hard.
If you
aren’t seeing kingdom victory in your life it’s because you don’t know how to
access the keys, how to wield that sword. We’re operating on hell’s agenda and
we need to change that. We do that by attaining the keys. If any man wishes to
come after Me, let him deny himself and follow Me – that’s a key.
Give up
your life, take it to the cross. That’s another key. To die daily is to carry
the cross in such a way that we give up our right to live as we wish, but that we
live as God wishes. There’s no power in what you want to do. The power is in
Jesus. Jesus is the key. The authority isn’t in your determination, it’s in
doing what God wants you to do. Whoever wishes to save himself, must first lose
himself.
God will
give you the keys, but he won’t use them for you. “I give you the keys to the
kingdom. Whatever you bind and whatever you loose…” Matthew 16:19. He gives you
the key but you are the one to bind and loose.
Authority
demands responsibility. Power only works if you’re fulfilling responsivity, if
you’re responding with the power given to you. You can’t wait for God to do it.
You need to take steps to move in the right direction.
We sing the
songs of power and authority and they sounds great, but as God said to Moses; Why
are you crying to Me. Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and
stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water (Ex 14:15-16). Moses had
to move. Moses had to act. We have to act. We can’t just pray and wait; we have
to take a step of faith.
Also Joshua
3:13 As soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord set foot in the
Jordan, its flowing waters will be cut off. The priests had to take the first
step.
If you
aren’t any better off today than you were ten years ago and yet you’ve said
amen…it’s because you didn’t get up and start moving. For you see, agreement
isn’t enough. Saying amen doesn’t make it so, action does. The water may not
have parted yet but God’s waiting to see you act before He unlocks the door
which give you power. Because authority always demands responsibility.
The family
of God, this church, is the best place to be. You can’t be isolated, or you’ll
be detached from God’s central nervous system and His power won’t work in your
life, or at least won’t work as effectively. This is why it’s important to go
to church. This is why it’s important to not stop meeting together.
Hebrews
10:24-25 And let us consider one another, in order to stir up love and good
works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together….
We are to
meet together and stir ourselves up. How did King David get back up when he was
down? He stirred himself up, strengthening himself in the Lord.
We go to church
every week, but we don’t know what we have. We don’t realise the extent of the
power we hold in our hands. Jesus is your solution. Jesus is in charge. All
authority was given to Him and He has His foot on the neck of all His enemies.
And what did He do? He gave us that authority. That authority is now on our
shoulders. But it won’t work if we don’t act.
So, if He’s
in charge and you have His authority, through the resurrection of Christ Jesus,
you are an overcomer. Put behind you what’s in your past and move forward to
what’s ahead. Forget the prayers that you feel haven’t been answered. Forget
the battles, the hardship, the tears and move forward in Christ, because you’ve
been given a brand-new life.
Ask
forgiveness. Ask for strength to start again. Take of His body, drink of His
blood. Allow Him to wash you whiter than snow and start afresh from today,
walking as if full of life. Walk with the faith you’ve been given. Grow that
faith muscle.
Faith is
both a gift and a fruit. Faith as a gift, is something we're given and can't
earn. Faith by fruit is something we can develop, something that grows. So, you
can’t earn, but you can learn. And both will help you grow.
How do we
attain faith? Faith comes by hearing and by hearing the word of God. We read
His word and our capacity to hear is advanced through our reading of the
scriptures. The more we read scripture, the more we hear God speaking to us.
We also
hear faith spoken over us at church, by our ministers and our faith is
strengthened by use. In time, by faith you will sense His presence and through
sensing His presence you will also hear His voice.
When the
angels see you acting on God’s word, the angels will respond to that word. The
church should be offering solutions to the world and if we hear, but don’t act,
nothing will happen. You’ve been given the authority to act and action is what
needs to happen now.
Sometimes
you’ll get an answer and sometimes you’ll feel as if nothing in happening. If
you can't hear Him but you can feel Him, know He's depositing things too great
for you to understand at this time.
Spend time
with God and the insurmountable problem which you can't fix or explain, will
become easier to bear, because you've spent time with Him and He's spoken into
your life and deeply into your heart. Then you’ll walk away in God’s peace.
Don’t come
to church to perform. Don’t come just to go through the motions. Come to church
to sit in the power and authority of Jesus Christ and allow Him to set you
free. And once free, you have been instructed to share.
Matthew
10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils; freely
you have received, freely give.
