Kingdom Keys

When a door is locked, only the owner, or trusted steward, has the authority to open it legally. In Matthew 16:19, Jesus tells Peter "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." The keys of the kingdom belong to Christ, as Peter's confession in verse 16 declares, He is the Son of the living God. Based on his confession, as well as our confession, as modern disciples, Christ continues to allow us to be stewards of the kingdom's keys, including the authority to bind and loose things on earth and move them to be bound and loosed in heaven.

The Solid Rock

Jesus asked his disciples "Who do men say that I am?" He asked all of his disciples, but only Peter answered him. In Matthew 16:16, Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." In verse 18, Jesus says "on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." Regardless of the trials that we may experience, God continues to speak to us and through us based on that solid foundation: Christ is indeed the Son of the Living God. When we direct our focus to how great our God is, and consider His unfailing love for us, our trials become much easier to navigate.

Conviction to Confession

In Matthew 16:16, Simon Peter replied to Jesus' question "Who do you say I am." Peter replied, "you are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus asked this question of all of the disciples, but only Peter answered. Our confession is one of the most powerful keys that we have, as disciples of Christ, however, we must first have the conviction to know, without a doubt, that Christ is the Son of the living God, to declare our confession with power.

Personal Jesus

In Matthew 14:15, Jesus asks his disciples "who do men say that I am?" They answered Him with what they heard from others: possibly John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah,or one of the prophets. Then He asked his disciples a simple, pointed question. "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" As disciples of Christ, we must have a personal conviction to know who is Christ to us. It's not enough to repeat what we heard from others of who Christ is to them; we must know Him personally, intimately, to truly be a disciple.

What Do You Say?

At times, our faith will be challenged by our peers, co-workers, and families. In Matthew 16:13, the Apostle recalls "when Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" As modern disciples of Christ, we must be prepared to offer a definite answer to the same question "Who do we say that Christ is?" and base our response on our conviction and scripture.

Blessed above a Curse

The third chapter of Malachi opens with a reminder of a curse caused by Adam and Eve's disobedience. God cursed the land, but continued to show mercy on us by accepting our tithes and offerings to restore our covenant with Him. In Malachi 3: 12, the Lord declares that "all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land." The land was cursed because of disobedience, but through our obedience, we will be truly blessed, so much so that all nations will recognize our blessing.

Recession-proof Finances

In an economic downturn, a natural response is to cut back on spending and giving. In Malachi 3:11, the Lord declares " I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the Lord Almighty." It's wise to examine your spending and to reduce spending on unnecessary expenses, but your tithes and offerings are enforce the God's covenant promises. His covenant does not promise that you will be rich, but He does promise to protect your resources so that you will always have an offering to give.

Overflowing Blessing

God instituted the system of giving tithes and offerings to break the curse on the ground after Adam's fall. In Malachi 3:10, God instructs us to "bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." God does not need anything from us; He is fully capable of taking care of His kingdom without any help from us, but He gives us the opportunity to plant a seed, and participate in his abundant harvest, but we cannot reap the harvest without first sowing a seed.

Robbing God

The concept of robbing God is somewhat unthinkable. In Malachi 8-9, God declares "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me." How can we rob a God who has power over everything? After the fall of Adam, God cursed the ground. Because of His love for us, he instituted tithes and offerings as a means to break that curse. It's true that God is all powerful, but He also gives us a free will, so that we will choose to love Him, and give freely of all that He has made us stewards over, including our finances.

Mercy in the Midst of a Curse

God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and provided them with easy access to everything they needed. They were tricked by the devil, and as a result of their disobedience, God cursed the ground. In Malachi 3:6-7, the Lord declares that "I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the Lord Almighty." Even in our disobedience, God continues to show us His love and mercy for us, and continues to draw us closer into His covenant promises.

Faith in Action

Being a disciple of Christ requires us to have faith, but we also need to put our faith into action, especially when we are ministering to others. In Mark 2:5, the Apostle recalls when When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." Jesus saw the faith of the four men, as well as the paralyzed man. Seeing their faith moved Jesus to meet their needs and healed more than just his body; He healed him and forgave him of his sins, so that he was more than healed, but made whole.

Emergency Entrance

Every hospital has an emergency entrance, which is reserved for emergency vehicles; these vehicles rush the most critical illnesses and conditions into the hospital, and often take priority over other patients. In Mark 2:4, the apostle recalls "since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on." The paralyzed man desperately needed to get into the church, as his need for Jesus was an emergency. The doors to the house were blocked, so his friends made an emergency entrance to meet his urgent need.

A Little Help from his Friends

When the people were listening to Jesus preaching the gospel, the house was so full that no one could get in. In Mark 2:3, the Apostle recalls that "four people came, carrying a paralyzed man." The paralyzed man was in a terrible social and economic situation because of his physical disability. His friends recognized that he was not able to get into the house on his own, so they carried him. When we see our brothers and sisters struggling, and recognize that they can't get to Jesus by themselves, we need to be true friends and carry them.

Make Some Room

When we discover a church where the Word is truly being preached, it's only natural for us to crave more of it. In Mark 2:2, the Apostle recalls that "many people gathered together so that there was no room in the house, not even outside the door. And Jesus was teaching them God's message." We can get so engrossed in the Word that we forget that the Word is available and beneficial for everyone; we must be able to make room for everyone who wants to receive it.

Spread the News

Word of mouth is one of the fastest, most effective methods of advertising. When we enjoy something, it is only natural for us to tell everyone who will listen. In Mark 2:1-1, the apostle recalls "when Jesus came back to Capernaum, the news spread that he was at home." Just as we tell everyone who will listen about the things that we enjoy most, we must also spread the good news of the Gospel. More than that, we should tell others where we experienced the spirit of God and received a relevant word.

Free to Worship

The word "worship" is defined as giving or demonstrating worth to something or someone. When we worship Christ, we demonstrate what He is worth to us. In 2 Corinthians 3;17, Apostle Paul declares "now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." Regardless of our sin, there is nothing that we can do to make us unworthy of worshipping. When we come together to worship, we have liberty to worship Christ freely. There is no social status and no spiritual hierarchy in worship; we humbly lay down all that we are to the world to worship Christ together.

Set Free Indeed

When we accept Christ as both Lord and Savior, He sets us completely free. In John 8:36, Jesus declares "If the Son therefore will make you free, you will be free indeed." When we trust and believe in Christ, only He has the power to set us completely free. Even when we face temptations and trials, and struggle with sin, Christ has given us the grace to stand in freedom we have through Him.

Set free from Sin

When we fall away from our own expectations, into sin and temptations, we may feel that our sin has set us so far away from God that He has surely rejected us. In Romans 8:1-2, Paul declares "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." Under the law of sin, we would be condemned for our sin and without hope. As Christians, we have the gift of repentance, thankfully, so that even when we sin, we have the gift of grace that sets us free from the full penalty of sin ending in death; through Christ, we have the gift of eternal life.

Set Free in Truth

In John 8: 31-32, Jesus preached to Jews who had believed him, just as He continues to preach to us today. He said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Just as Jesus preached to his disciples, the Jews who believed him, He continues to preach to us today. We can only be truly free as Christ's disciples, knowing the truth that we have been set free from the bondage of sin.

Walking in freedom

When someone is incarcerated, they have few rights, if any, and are forced to live in bondage and constantly reminded that that they broke the law. Before we accepted Christ, we were incarcerated and in bondage to our sin. When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, He has set us free. In Psalm 119:45, the psalmist declares "I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments." When we devote ourselves to seeking Christ and His commandments, we are able to walk in true freedom.

All things are working

Sometimes, our circumstances may seem to be completely contrary to the purpose that God has ordained for our lives. In Romans 8:28, Paul declares "and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." The circumstances cannot cancel our destiny, but may cause us to take a detour to our purpose. As with any detour, we may take a little longer to arrive at our destination, but we will arrive and fulfill the purpose that God has already ordained for our lives.

Prayer for purpose

When we are seeking our purpose, one of the requirements is that we must pray; as believers, prayers should be a part of our everyday life. However, even the strongest believer can become weak with the cares of this life, struggles, and all sorts of temptations. In Romans 8:26, the Bible declares that "the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." When we don't know how to pray, or not able to pray because we are so weak, it's comforting to know that the Spirit himself intercedes for us, and will lead us into our purpose.