Sermon Central
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Keys Please!
Contributed by John Gaston on Apr 4, 2016 (message contributor)
Summary: Satan has been defeated! Most of his power has been taken by our Resurrected Lord when He overcame death, hell, and the grave. The Keys of the Kingdom have been delegated to us. We must use them!
“KEYS PLEASE!”
Mt. 16:19
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. At the hospital, the relatives of a gravely ill person met with the doctor.
2. “I’m afraid I’m the bearer of bad news. The only hope left for your loved one at this time is a brain transplant. Insurance will cover the cost of the procedure, but you will have to pay for the brain yourselves.”
3. Finally, a family member asked, “Well how much does a brain cost?” The doctor quickly responded, “$5,000 for a male brain and $200 for a female brain.”
4. The men in the room tried not to smile, avoiding eye contact with the women, but some actually smirked. A man blurted out, “Why is the male brain so much more?”
5. The doctor smiled at the childish ignorance and explained to the entire group, “It’s just standard pricing procedure. We have to mark down the price of female brains. After all, they’ve actually been used!”
B. TEXT
16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 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. 18 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. 19 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.” Mt. 16:16-19
“Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.” Lk. 11:52.
18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. 19 Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. Rev. 1:18-19. NKJV
C. THESIS
1. This morning I want to give you a powerful weapon against the enemy. I want to remind you that Satan has been defeated!
2. That all his power has been taken by our Resurrected Lord when He overcame death, hell, and the grave.
3. And because Jesus overcame, we also are made “More than Conquerors” in Him! TITLE: “KEYS PLEASE!”
I. THE POWER OF KEYS
A. MEANING
1. “Key or Keys” are mentioned 8X in the Bible (KJV). Greek word is klice (key) from klio “to close a lock.”
2. KEY (defined) – “a device to lock or unlock something.”
3. A key implies a lock and a shut door; a door which CAN be opened and the interior revealed, if one has the Key.
4. To have possession of a key is to have great power. One who finds the key to a problem can change the course of history. Ex.: Vaccines, metals, machines, computers, etc.
5. ILLUSTRATION
a. 2 people showed up to claim an abandoned auto on the side of the road.
b. A policeman stopped to check on what was going on. Both claimed ownership.
c. Finally one man said, “Officer, do you think it logical, that if a man owns a vehicle, he will have a set of keys to it?
d. “Here are the Keys!” Jesus has the keys to the realm of Death.
B. EXAMPLES
1. JOSEPH’S KEY TO EGYPTIAN GRAIN.
a. Joseph became the Ruler over Egypt. The whole world was without food. Joseph opened the storehouses (41:56) to feed them.
b. Joseph had the key to the granaries. His power to open and shut them was great because millions would starve or live. See the power keys have.
2. ELIJAH HAD THE KEY TO RAIN
a. Lk. 4:25. Elijah had the power to open or shut heaven (Rain). 1 Kgs. 17:1, “… there shall not be dew or rain…but according to my word.”
b. Only after 3 ½ years and the nation repenting did Elijah pray and it rained again.
c. Same with the 2 witnesses in Rev. 11:6, they have the “power to shut heaven.”
3. RELIGIOUS LEADERS’ KEY OF KNOWLEDGE
a. Lk. 11:52, Lord Jesus tells us that religious leaders have the ability to correctly interpret the Word to people.
b. BUT THEY DIDN’T. Parallel in Mt. 23:13 says, “You shut up the Kingdom of heaven against men.”
c. They kept people from entering heaven because of their false interpretations. Cults do this today.
II. JESUS HAS DELEGATED THE KEYS
A. KEYS OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
1. In Christ we are given liberty and every spiritual blessing in Christ. 2 Pet. 1:3, God “has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness…”
