This past Sunday I attempted to preach a message from Matthew 16:19 where Jesus told Peter after his confession of faith, "...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." I don't want to make a habit out of recapping sermons from Sunday but I want to share some things with you.
To be quite honest with you - the verse above has always posed some difficulty with me. But the other day, as I was looking over these verses, I sensed the Lord share with me that the verse above is a FAITH statement. In other words: Whatever my faith loses on earth will be loosed in heaven but whatever I bind on earth (lack of faith) will be bound in heaven. And as I began to look at verse 19 in this light some things really started clicking for me. Allow me to explain.
When I praise God according to His Word - I loose His presence into my life.
When I share the Gospel with someone - I loose salvation to flow to someone else.
When I loose my faith in prayer - I loose the Spirit of God to work freely in my life.
The point is that God desires to work in specific ways in my life BUT He doesn't come in and force Himself in any area. He waits on us to act in faith allowing Him to move in. If we say "I don't want God to..." then He won't.
When I understood the importance of all of this I had to ask the question, "What do I want to see loosed in my life?" What is it that I am believing God for but maybe not taking the appropriate faith steps to accomplish? I'm praying for revival but am I doing what I need to do to see revival come? I want to go deeper with the Spirit of God but am I drawing closer to Him so that He may draw closer to me? I want to lead people to Christ but am I sharing the Gospel? The list can go on and on. What about someone who want to be blessed financially? They pray and ask God to move in their finances but they still spend money like crazy or they don't give according to God's Word. What we ask for in prayer must be followed up by how we live.
You see, the keys to unlocking the doors of heaven (loosening) are Faith and Obedience. When you pray for God to do something you must ask in faith. But don't stop there - act in faith. Allow God to loose that thing in your life. Verse 19 was an affirmation to Peter and a promise to us! Don't grieve the Spirit of God in your life, allow Him to have free reign.
You will be amazed at what God can accomplish!
P.S. For those of you praying for our Ukraine team: Everyone is doing well. The team has had some wonderful experiences. Please continue praying - there is much spiritual warfare.
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