PICKING UP THE KEYS

SEVEN KEYS:

Living Life in Uncertain Times

RF, January 7, 2018

Intro: Picking Up the Keys;

CONNECT Remember the feeling you had when you got a new car? Maybe not new-new, but new to you new! You had all the paperwork finished; the salesman took the car to have it detailed for you; then he walked in and handed you the keys! With a feeling of excitement and nervousness, you went outside, got in the vehicle, put the key in the ignition, turned it, the engine roared to life.

You have that same feeling when you get a new apartment, or a new house! You sign the lease, you close on the house, and then the realtor hands you the keys! You go to the dwelling, put the key in the lock, turn it, open the door, and walk into what is now your home!

TENSION We live in a stressful time. There are wars and rumors of war; natural catastrophes abound; morality and identity seem to change with the daily news broadcast. Money seems to be expanding at an incredible rate but your banking account has never been smaller. In these times you question, "How do we live in this pressure cooker?"

SOLUTION I believe that the Bible is as relevant today as it was the day it was penned. The keys to thrive, not just survive, are there for us to employ. All we have to do is pick up the keys, put them in the locks, turn them, and open the doors to all that God has for us in this new year.

PRAYER

INSTRUCTION Let me talk about keys in general for a few minutes...

1.     There are many types of keys: metal keys, digital keys, fingerprint keys, facial keys, keypads...

2.     A key can also be seen as a fundamental, foundational, or essential truth or action, that, if employed, will yield a desired result.

3.     A key can be a signal about what is coming. As a defensive coach in football, we taught our players to read keys, to watch how certain players moved in certain formations. This could be a signal of what the opponent was up to.

4.     A key can be a form or structure that provides a framework in which to move. There are keys in music that form melody and harmony. There are chroma keys in photography that give color to pictures. Key stock allows motors to spin shafts and gears. Key boards allow input of information. Keys unlock hidden codes and give meaning to maps.

For our purposes, we can apply all of these definitions for they are all compelling metaphors.

There is a correlation between the number of keys and the size of the thing you want to unlock! You don't even get a key to a bicycle, unless you have a lock and chain. My motorcycles all had small keys. My cars mostly had one key.  Older models may have had up to three keys: door, ignition, trunk. Nowadays, you have a key, but only need to push a button to operate the vehicle. I have driven motor homes before; there were more keys than I knew what to do with.

My house came with a set of keys. My business had even more keys. Now when we got this church, I was given so many keys!  We have keys to everything from gates, to locks, to doors, to offices, to closets, to cabinets, to machinery, to vehicles, to alarms, to fire equipment.  The list goes on and on!  The point is: the bigger the thing, the more keys you have.

God has given us many keys. That speaks to the size of the work He wants us to do and the level of glory He has in store for us!

Matthew 16:19 (NKJV) And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Isaiah 22:22 (NKJV) The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; so, he shall open, and no one shall shut; and he shall shut, and no one shall open.

1.     God has given you the keys.

2.     You have the power to use them.

3.     You bind things or loosen things.

4.     You open doors or shut doors.  

What are these keys? In the weeks to come we will talk about seven keys. They are found in the first three chapters of Revelations. During this series, we will have videos to encourage you, blogs for you to read and respond, and discussion materials for your small groups. This is our material; we are developing it ourselves. We didn’t get it off the internet! Take advantage of all of these and let’s grow together! Read Revelations 1-3 each week.

Revelation 1:9-11 (NKJV) I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea,”

These seven churches are all real congregations. They were located in what is now modern Turkey. John had been intimately involved with all of them. They were all enduring trying times in their culture: persecution was expanding, morality was prolific, and false teachers were everywhere. In this context, John writes that the abundant life Christ came to give is still available and accessible.

He writes a letter to each church. He cannot visit them because he is in exile on the island of Patmos. In each letter is a problem, a process, and a prize. The process is the key. God gives a promise with each key and the provision to fulfill it.

These keys are not some panacea that has suddenly dropped out of the sky, or the latest thing on the theological horizon.  They are not the topic of the latest TV talk show or the theme of the hottest book on the market.  They are the same things that have carried believers to victory for centuries.  Things like love, faithfulness, repentance, integrity, new life, perseverance, and passion. We hope to re-visit these and breathe new life into them for this generation!

INSPIRATION Revelation 1:18 (NKJV) I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

Jesus is alive and wants us to live too. He gives us the keys to defeat the work of Satan in our lives. All the powers of Hell itself are under the control of the keys in our hands!

APPLICATION Churches are not buildings. They are an organization and a living organism. A church is people. It is people who make the difference. When we look at the seven keys, here is what I want you to do

1.     Does the problem exist in your life?

2.     Apply the key, the process.

3.     Take the promise to heart.

4.     Claim His provision.

5.     Live in the prize!

As we change, the church changes. As the church changes, we touch others and the community changes. As the community changes, the city changes. It all begins with us! Take the journey; pick up your keys; unlock the doors; turn on the power!

ILLUSTRATION Have you ever lost your keys? You are limited in what you can do. Do you have keys in your house or in your desk that you don’t know what lock they fit? They are only good as a paperweight! They are cluttering up your life! Use the keys that God gives you; don’t worry about the others!

The power of the keys comes from getting a revelation from God.

Matthew 16:17–18 (NKJV) Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

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