Matthew 16 : 17 -19

       We see these two passages of scripture are coming out of a background or context that Jesus had asked His desciples who men thought that he was. And also who they thought that he was. So Peter receiving direct revelation from the Father in Heaven said that Jesus was the Christ the Son of the Living God. So, in the context Jesus went on to say that because of Peter's revelation that He was called PETROS or a small stone. Jesus them went on to say. That the church would be built upon PETRA or a big stone. Peter was a small stone, because he received a revelation from God. Remember the church is not built upon Peter. The church is built upon Jesus Christ who is the foundation, and God through Jesus gave Peter the revelation of who Jesus was. That is who the foundation is built upon; the revelation of who Jesus is!

        The Catholic church believes that the foundation is Peter and they believe that when we get to heaven Peter will have the keysand open the gates and let us in. No! The gates of heaven are here for you to enter into. So, Jesus is simply telling Peter and the disciples that the Kingdom of God operates through Spiritual revelation coming from God concerning who Jesus is. That is one of the main jobs of the Holy Spirit today! His ministry is to bring revelation to a person through the preaching and or teaching of God's word! So, Jesus then says to Peter; I will give you the KEYS TO THE KINGDOM, AND WHATEVER YOU BIND ON EARTH WILL BE BOUND IN HEAVEN, AND WHATEVER YOU LOOSE ON EARTH WILL BE LOOSED IN HEAVEN!"

        Now, what is Jesus talking about?

        �� In Isaiah 22:22 the Prophet is talking about Eliakim who will have the key of the house of David on his shoulder, or simply, the authority to open the house of David. Now, the duty of Eliakim was to be the Faithful steward of the House of David. (In a Prophetic sence this is talking about Jesus who now holds the keys of death and Hell.) Now, it was the stewards job to carry the keys of their master's house and it was the steward who opened the doors of the house in the mornings and closed them again in evening. So, it was through these doors that Keys of the Kingdom symbolize authority to open and to shut. I believe that in the case of Peter the keys were for opening the Kingdom of Heaven for people to enter into the Royal presence of God. Peter received the authority through Jesus Christ being revealed to Him. Peter was to be a vessel to be used by the Holy Spirit to convey to people the revelation of who Jesus was! THE HOLY SPIRIT WANTS TO USE YOU IN THE SAME WAY! To be a people that He flows through, so that He can speak to the hearts of those who hear so that they can receive Jesus and ENTER IN to the Kingdom of God!

        We can see this beginning literally in the Book of Acts chapter 2:41 when Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost. And the door was opened and 3,000 people got saved and entered into the Kingdom of God by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. What did he do? Peter took a key and he opened a door through the preaching of the Gospel. Now Kammy is sitting here, and she tells me that she gets on the Internet and she talks to people about God and about Jesus Christ through the computer internet. What she is doing is using a key to open the door of Heaven to people through the computer internet. People, I will say what I said in our Friday night Bible study and that is "GOD USES ORDINARY PEOPLE!" God used Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. He used Peter, Andrew. He used Nathaniel and He used Thaddaeus. They were not exceptional men. They were ordinary people who learned how to use the keys that were given to them. To open the door for people to at least be able to make the choice whether or not they want to come in. Please do not ever think that God cannot use you based on your lack of seminary education. That is a lie! God can use anyone or anything! God used a donkey to convict Balaam of his sin! God used a chicken to prove to Peter that Peter would fail Jesus. God used a fish to help pay taxes at one time. How much more can He use you? God is looking for people who are willing to follow Him, and willing to obey. Also when Peter came into the house of Cornelius and opened the door for the gentiles to enter into the Kingdom (See Acts 10 ＆ 15). How? By simply telling them about Jesus he opened the door and they made the choice and came in.

        �� Now, the promise by Jesus to Peter that he would have the Keys to the Kingdom was that Peter would be the first to be used to open the doors to walk into the presence of God! Peter was the first and he was not the last because all of us have that responsibility. But now it is no longer Peter or the other disciples or apostles who have the keys to the Kingdom; EVERY CHRISTIAN NOW HAS THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM. For now it is given to every Born-Again to open the door to others also.

        Remember, keys are a symbol of Authority, and Jesus is saying; Peter, I now give you the authority on Earth, because I am going to be with the Father to open the doors of Heaven for people to come in! He is saying the same thing to us today also! The Bible tells us that we have been given Authority. Authority to bind the Powers of darkness in this world today. Remember, there are 2 kingdoms functioning in the world today. The kingdom of Satan and the Kingdom of God. Many people are bound or are in bondage to Satan. We have been given the authority, that key to open the doors of Heaven so that people will be able to choose whether or not they will come in. We have been the authority to bind the powers of darkness over men's minds so that they will be able to at least see the truth. You have been given that authority. Jesus spoken about binding the strong men(Satan) in Matt. 12:29. Jesus bound Satan and then Jesus loosed men from Satan's grasp and his bondage. First He bound Satan and then he loosed men! Jesus set them free. In the same way when I pray in church I pray at first; Satan you are bound in the name of Jesus! I am binding Satan because I don't know who is going to be here at these services. If you are here just for English, I pray God would set you free from that and that you would hear the Gospel and believe and be here because you want to worship the Lord Jesus Christ! Also if you are sick from demonic oppression that we would bind the power of darkness and see you healed. Or if you are in bondage to alcohol or cigarettes or anything that would keeping you in bondage. We bind the power of the enemy over that bondage and ask that God would loose you from that bondage.

        And also in Romans 6:14 men being loosed from sin and sin not having mastery over them any longer. How! By preaching about the provision of freedom from sin in Jesus Christ. Simply by telling someone that they can be set free and it doesn't always take a preacher to do that. It takes someone who is willing! I have sat on airplane before and simply told someone about Jesus and that might be all it takes to change someone life. Also if someone is domon possessed the church has been given the authority(the keys) to bind the demon and command him to depart.

        So, as Christians (Born-Again Christians) all of you have been given keys just like you all have keys in your pockets that you use in some way for your cars, houses, offices, etc. In my pocket is a car key, a house key, and office key, etc. We all have the keys of Heavens authority. Now, my keys are a symbol of my authority to enter my home or my office or car. So, God has given us His keys and He has called us to be stewards like Eliakim to open the door for others to be able to come into His kingdom. How? By simply saying; YOU NEED JESUS! Are you in bondage to something today? YOU NEED JESUS! Are cigarettes controling you? YOU NEED JESUS! Is alcohol controling you? YOU NEED JESUS! You say that you have a difficulty time understanding the Bible. YOU NEED JESUS! Many times when people come into a church they hear the Gospel and when they go home they forget what they have heard. If I ask some of you what did I preach about last week. I wonder how many of you could remember, because our minds are somewhere else even though our body is here. Where is your mind today? Is it on sleeping? You might be saying today 'hurry pastor I am tired. I want to go home.' You have been given authority, so use it. If on an internet, Praise the Lord, if it is on a train, Praise the Lord, or at school, Praise the Lord.