Speaking God’s Keys Puts Things Right
David W Palmer
(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.”
This series of devotional studies has been looking at the power of our tongue, its God-given ability to set the direction of our life, and how to tame it so it speaks what is beneficial. Today, we look at the indomitable power of speaking what the Holy Spirit shows us.
The apostle Paul said that this is exactly how he operated:
(1 Corinthians 2:13 NLT)
Bearing in mind that the tongue has the power to control our bodies like the bit in a horse’s mouth; and considering that God endowed it with the ability to steer our lives and the lives of those for whom we are responsible like the rudder on a ship. And when we accept that it can set on fire things as large as a forest—either for good or destructively evil; getting God’s words onto our tongues is essential for maximum life, godliness, creativity, health, and good outcomes.
Primarily, we get the right words onto our tongues by feeding a constant diet of God’s word into our hearts until it overflows in words of life and good. Concurrently, we need to keep the enemy’s word-seeds out of our hearts. We certainly don’t want his words growing in our heart-soil and then exploding out of our mouths in destructive, life limiting, destiny destroying power. We also ensure his words overflow from our hearts as we meditate on God, his goodness, love, and character. This can happen in prayer, bible focus, and praise.
We can especially speak God’s very words for us when we hear from him in the Spirit—as he gives us the exact words to articulate in given circumstances. When a situation is locked down that needs to be free; or when a situation is running out of control that needs to be put in order or tied down, then he has “keys” that can lock or unlock, bind or loose, tie up or set free.
Jesus calls these “the keys of the kingdom of heaven”; and they work in conjunction with revelation from heaven, as the context in which he first mentioned them shows:
(Matthew 16:16–19 NKJV)
Peter received a revelation from Jesus’s “Father who is in heaven.” In other words, he received a revelation from God in the spirit realm. Then, Jesus went on to talk about building his church through this particular revelation—that he is the Christ—and the method by which Peter obtained it—that of receiving revelation from God in the spirit and speaking it on earth.
This is to what Jesus was referring when he said, “I will give you the keys …” Jesus is the word made flesh, the living word of God (See: John 1:1–14). In his capacity as the living word, he brings a word to life in us to be spoken, believed, and enacted through us. This is using our tongue for creative purposes, and it builds the church.
One specific application of this would be a word of prophecy. Interestingly, in 1 Corinthians the Holy Spirit confirms that revealed and spoken words of prophecy from heaven build the church:
(1 Corinthians 14:4 NKJV)
Perhaps this can be better understood for our purpose today when we read it from a different translation:
(1 Corinthians 14:4 GWT
This is further confirmed when we note that the Holy Spirit added:
(Revelation 19:10 NKJV)
Today, your tongue can be used for powerful good; you can be Jesus’s mouthpiece, giving him the vital use of your tongue to do his work on earth. Remember, it is like the rudder on a ship; set in the right direction, it can steer the whole vessel, its passengers, and its cargo to the captain’s planned destination. By letting Jesus, the living Word, be the captain over your tongue through his revelations from heaven, you can help him in his vision to have his church become …
(Ephesians 5:25–27 NKJV)
