Wednesday 27 March 2019

Spiritual Keys


Scripture: Matthew 16 v 15 - 19: "He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
 16  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 Heaven.  However, Jesus is the one who holds the keys to Hell and Death. (Revelation 1 v 18).   Peter received spiritual keys concerning the foundation statement of Christianity that the Father had revealed to Peter - 'Thou art the Christ the Son of the Living God'.  To become a Christian you have to believe this.

Upon the rock foundation of those words Jesus said He would build His church or His Body. The keys of binding and loosing, which is the way to Heaven, were given to Peter.  Keys are needed to lock or unlock doors, drawers or chests on the Earthly plane. So what do spiritual keys do?

When we are born again our 'dead in sin' spirit is saved immediately, brought back to life and taken to Heaven. (We are seated with Christ in heavenly places - Ephesians 2, and, we are alive in Christ.). 

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 (We were born in sin - Ps 51 v 5). Our sins are forgiven but the consequences of sin must be worked out.  

Adam and Eve were created by God in perfection, except their souls were still damaged by sin, and no matter how much He loved them and taught them, and warned them, when the Serpent pushed their buttons they immediately capitulated and plunged the whole world into his evil clutches.  It was so awful that God repented of making Man and sent a Flood to remove them.

All sin has consequences and in Romans we learn that the wages of sin is death. Harming your body and mind with drugs, cigarettes, alcohol or sexual sin has consequences that eventually lead to death. Fatal lung diseases, liver diseases, or brain malfunction like dementia are almost epidemics today.   HIV/AIDS is still a pandemic linked to sex.  The ultimate death is eternity in Hell. Jesus was sent by the Father to spare His children the torments of Hell.  This was Plan B for humanity.

So binding and loosing are very important in the scheme of things. 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 - most of us know how a wonderful person turns into a raging lunatic when the demon of alcohol is loosed inside. Or drugs.

That demon needs to be bound. It is not the drug or alcohol that causes the problems it is the loss of self-control those substances bring into play.  The demons are no longer inhibited because drinking and drugging puts you under the influence. Their influence!!  

Matthew 15 v 16 - 20: " And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
 17  Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
 18  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
 19  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
 20  These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man."

Then the demons take over and cause the bad or rowdy behaviour; reckless driving which causes accidents; promiscuity or violence.  Sin through drugs or alcohol allows demons to take control and they kill, maim and destroy without any form of conscience.  Psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, doctors and others who try to help are frustrated because they can describe the situation perfectly but cannot stop it recurring.  They absolutely refuse to believe in demonic control.

Born again Christians have the same keys that Peter was given to take authority over a demon and bind it. 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 human host. In all realms it is visible in its paralyzed state. The demons in Hell tremble when saints (born again Christians) using the authority of Jesus under the anointing of the Holy Spirit start setting captives free.

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. 

The disciples in Jesus' days on Earth were very excited that the demons were subject to them. Jesus warned them not to glory in it but to be thankful. 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 when the person you want to help is not co-operating fully it is futile. The person in need should be truly 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 then money is wasted trying to fix the problem in expensive rehab facilities.

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.  Of course these are not the only demons we have to deal with. We use them as examples as most people are aware of these substances and unknowingly blame the person for the behaviour of demons.  The person is guilty of not resisting the temptation.

This is a sure way of helping a person bound by demons.  James 4 v 6 - 7: "But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
 7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

Be humble, submit to God, resist or refuse to give in to temptation, and Satan or any demons will leave in a hurry.  It really works but has to be consistently applied until the person is totally free as demons sneak back in if the heart is not filled with Jesus and His power.  This is a major spiritual key.

When you understand how powerful a tool it is in the recovery of those bound by substances or witchcraft or occult involvement 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. In 40 years I have never met anyone who was completely free. I was my own guinea pig and learnt much about deliverance at the feet of Jesus. Not a day goes by when we are not engaged in spiritual warfare.

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 Kingdoms 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, and spiritual key, to overcome the enemy. In Jesus' name. Amen.