Remember when you were a teenager and had just started driving? Most likely, your parents were the teacher and usually, the father spends adequate amount of time to teach his children how to drive a car.
After many days of driving with them in the passenger seats, hearing all the instructions, pointers, shouts of fear and brief panic attacks while you drove, the one thing that you hoped for was that any moment they would let you use their car on your own.
The most perfect dream of your life at that point was that one day, they would trust you enough to stretch out their arm with keys in hand and say to you: “here, you can use it.”
One day, after Peter confessed Jesus to be the Messiah and the Son of God (Mat 16:13-20). Jesus decided to hand over the keys to him, and later, to the rest of his disciples— including us (Matt 18:18). Jesus had spent adequate amount of time teaching them, but Peter’s confession indicated that he believed Jesus to not just be a friend, a very good teacher or prophet, but the one and only Messiah that Israel had long been promised. Jesus must have been like: “Finally you get who I am. So here are the keys, go on and drive it.”
He said: “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 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.” (Matthew 16:18-19)
What did you do after your parents finally gave you the keys?
Was your response and attitude: “No, I’m just going to ride the bus wherever I need to go, even if it’s more time consuming and difficult.”
Or: “I’m too afraid, I can’t do this.” I’m just going to ask my friend to pick me up whenever he can.”
Or: “Na, I’m just going to stay at home by myself and go nowhere.”
I don’t think so.
I hope that wasn’t your response.
You probably did a happy dance once you got those keys and immediately used them. You were excited because it meant you were ready to handle the responsibility of driving a car and now you could do so with confidence to go where you must! You had just been given the authority to drive this car, so you would.
My friend, Jesus left you the keys.
Why are you depressed, feeling defeated, anxious, stuck, taking the bus, staying home, waiting on your friend to pick you up, confused and bound by sin?
If Jesus left the keys, I plan on using them.
If he left his authority, I plan on using it.
If he gave me power, I plan on using it.
If he gave me freedom, I plan on using it.
Whatever the situation is… I will use what he left for me to use!
Church, you have the keys—use them. Please stop entertaining and use the keys that sets people free so they can be real disciples of the kingdom.
Whenever you have any of those feelings or situations that oppose your place in the kingdom of God, you must remember you are a child of God and Jesus left you the keys. You need to remember who you are and take those keys and the authority you have to start or stop the engine, to open and close the kingdom of heaven.
Use the keys.
Use everything that he left for you to have victory.
Live in victory.
Good news is:
We are never driving solo; he promised to be with us.
