Binding and Loosing
Scripture: Matthew 16 v 18 - 19:
"And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and
upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of Heaven: and
whatsoever thou shalt bind on Earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever
thou shalt loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven."
Many people believe that St. Peter controls who enters
Heaven because Jesus gave him the keys to the kingdom. Only Jesus Christ, the righteous judge,
decides who enters Heaven as it says in Revelation 1 that Jesus holds the keys
of death and hell. Meaning that He has
authority over every soul and its final destination.
The keys given to Peter are spiritual keys concerning the
foundation statement that the Father had revealed to Peter - Thou art the
Christ the Son of the Living God. Upon the rock foundation of these words Jesus
said He would build His church or His Body.
Anyone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God and
follows Him faithfully, will live forever with Him. Jesus was playing on words
because Peter, Hebrew Petra, means a stone, while the Revelation of who Jesus
really is, is the rock upon which we stand by faith.
The keys of binding and loosing, which is the way to
Heaven, were given to Peter originally, but are available to all who want to
minister deliverance to the bound and captive souls. Keys are needed to lock or unlock doors or
drawers or chests on the Earthly plane. So what do spiritual keys do?
When we are born again our spirit is saved and taken to
Heaven. (We are seated with Christ in heavenly places - Ephesians 2). Our soul
- the part of us that Satan held hostage and did evil damage to - still has to
overcome the torment it was subjected to before being placed in a human body on
Earth. Our sins are forgiven but the consequences of sin must be worked
out.
Harming your body and mind with drugs, cigarettes,
alcohol, free sex, witchcraft, abortion, gluttony etc has consequences that
eventually lead to death. The ultimate death is eternity in Hell, which Jesus
was sent by the Father to spare His children the torments of.
So binding and loosing are very important. Whatsoever you
bind on Earth is bound in Heaven. We need to discover through the gifts of the
Holy Spirit what has got loose in our lives that is going to kill us eternally.
It is always a demon.
If its alcohol or drugs, most of us know how a wonderful
person turns into a raging lunatic when the demon of alcohol or drugs is loosed
inside. That demon needs to be bound. It is not the drug or alcohol that causes
the problems it is the inhibition those substances bring into play. The demons are no longer inhibited because
self-control is gone; they take over and cause the rowdy behaviour; reckless
driving which causes accidents; promiscuity or violence.
Born again Christians have the same keys that Peter was
given to take authority over a demon and bind it. (Please read "The Sons
of Sceva" on this blog before trying this at home!). When a demon is bound
on Earth it is bound in Heaven too. It is paralyzed and gagged and unable to do
its evil work on its host human. But the human needs to be loosed too.
The keys to loosing a human from demonic bondage is to
minister to them to find out what the problem was that kick started their
binge. What is the underlying horror they are trying to escape? When that is
determined, prayer and teaching are done to cleanse the soul of those
experiences and memories, to restore them to the path of righteousness. In
Romans 12 v 1 - 2 we need to renew our minds according to the will of God. It
is His will that we be free of demons and sinful behaviour.
When you first realise, as I did in the early 1980's,
that your problems stem from something you can actually control and deal with
it is very exciting. However you soon realize that it is hard work, and the
person you want to help may not be co-operating fully. The person in need
should be desperate for help before you begin.
Derek Prince used to say if you are not desperate for
deliverance then come back when you are. This is very true and helps not to
waste time and energy on someone who is still waffling and undecided about
wanting to be free.
Parents may be desperate for their teenager to get off
drugs or alcohol but if that teenager is still loving his drugs, time, energy
and money is wasted trying to fix the problem. You need to educate the person
about the harm of drugs and alcohol, and expose them to how people become physically,
mentally or emotionally diminished after years of substance abuse.
When you understand how powerful a tool it is in the
recovery of those bound by substances, witchcraft, occult involvement,
bitterness or rejection or fear, you will give praise and glory to Jesus for
the sacrifice He made to bring Satan down so that we would be able to overcome
these demons.
When we see the victory of a bound soul being loosed of
demonic influence and able to freely worship and serve the Lord, know that heaven
is rejoicing with us and the freed captive is mightily blessed. I know. I was
one of them.
Prayer: Heavenly Father I was so ignorant about the life
of the Spirit. I bless and thank You for opening my eyes and setting me free. I
pledged then and renew it now that I will delight to make the kingdoms of this
world the Kingdom of our God. Every place that we spiritually walk upon or
overcome You have given to us to present to You when You return. Father stir up
every buried talent and bring Your army of prayer warriors to use every gift of
the Holy Spirit to overcome the enemy. In Jesus' name. Amen.