04/08/2013 - THREE KEYS THAT WORK

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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. 

Matthew 16.19

In this verse, the verbs bind and loose mean tie and untie, just like a traveler ties his horse when he arrives somewhere: he ties the animal, so that it will not go away, and later, when it is time to resume the trip, he unties the horse. In the case of demons, the right thing to do is to immobilize them and cast them away, thus preventing further action.

We must tie Satan to expel evil spirits and undo the works cast upon those who are weak in the faith. The secret for tying and untying lies is using the keys of the kingdom of heaven, which were given to the Church, so that it would carry out the work of God, as Jesus did. A prayer made by any child of God immobilizes the devil, stopping his action.

It is essential for us to know the keys and how they work. In the book Acts of the Apostles, which was written by Luke, the beloved physician (Colossians 4.14), we have the three keys: the name of Jesus, the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. The apostles used them to deliver those who were lost and tormented by evil spirits, baptize in the Spirit the believers in Christ, and to heal the sick (Acts 4.29-31).

When Jesus asked the disciples about his identity, the Father revealed to Peter that Jesus was the Christ, the living Son of God. And when Jesus heard Peter say that, he praised him and called him blessed, because he had received a revelation from the Father (Mt 16.16,17). Today those who receive a revelation from the Father also become successful, since we know that, through the Word of God, we can understand the gospel and find good (Proverbs 16.20).

Jesus said that upon that rock – the revelation – he would build his Church and, in order for us to grow in faith, we need to understand the Truth. We know that nothing happens by chance, since the kingdom of God is more organized than the kingdom of man. Differently from the kingdom of God, in the kingdom of man it is possible to gain authority or be accepted as a citizen, for example, only if you undergo a long and bureaucratic process. Then in an official ceremony, you receive such honor, being recognized as citizen.

The Lord said that his Church would march into the enemy’s territory and the gates of Hades would not prevail (Matthew 16.18). What a comforting truth, don’t you think so? After receiving directions from heaven, we can assume our position in Christ, and march steadily to fulfill the mission that Jesus gave us.

Having the power to bind the strong man, why shouldn’t you immobilize him, in order to plunder the house he has taken over? Why should you allow anyone to suffer in the hands of evil spirits, anyone to remain lost or anyone who is saved but does not have the Holy Spirit to continue like that? If the keys of the kingdom of heaven have already been given to you, what are you waiting for?

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares