Scripture: Matthew 16 v 16 - 19: "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18 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.
19 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. Peter's keys are keys to the Kingdom of God here on Earth. They set souls free from bondage.
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. Because we are born in sin, these sins began when we were hostages before the world was formed.
(If you do a scripture search using your concordance on "before the foundation of the world" you will be as amazed as I was by how many references there are. Ephesians 1 v 4: "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:" This is just one example. Revelation 13 v 8 is another.)
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.
I was 25 Years old when Jesus found me and saved me. I found out in the midst of a messy divorce from an alcoholic wife-abuser, that I was adopted at birth. Those I thought were my parents were also alcoholics and life was not great. I went from frying pan to fire. I was bound by two spirits Bitterness and Rejection.
It took 5 Years for Jesus to bring me to Lyn who cared enough to pray for my release from these horrible demons and the vile memories. I give Jesus all the glory for setting me free and have spent every day since informing people and praying for them as He leads me to do.
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.
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.
I was 25 Years old when Jesus found me and saved me. I found out in the midst of a messy divorce from an alcoholic wife-abuser, that I was adopted at birth. Those I thought were my parents were also alcoholics and life was not great. I went from frying pan to fire. I was bound by two spirits Bitterness and Rejection.
It took 5 Years for Jesus to bring me to Lyn who cared enough to pray for my release from these horrible demons and the vile memories. I give Jesus all the glory for setting me free and have spent every day since informing people and praying for them as He leads me to do.
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.