In a college setting, it is possible to audit a course, gaining knowledge while disregarding the associated responsibilities such as homework and exams. However, this approach is not applicable to the Christian life. While one may uphold the information of the Christian faith, neglecting the associated responsibilities is not compatible with its principles. Just as one cannot audit a course in college while disregarding its responsibilities, one cannot fully embrace the Christian life while neglecting its essential tenets.
What many people do is they come to church to hear the Word, inspired by the Word, but they do not plan to do any of the work. They do not want to incur any of the responsibility for it, but they like learning about it. In college, you need to know that when you audit a course, you do not get credit for it because you did not put in what the course required.
1) Desire to be transformed by the word
When evaluating the Christian life through the act of attending to the Word, seeking inspiration and encouragement from it, yet failing to act upon the teachings received, one may acquire knowledge and motivation, but will not undergo transformation. Transformation in life through the Word has to be activated by obedience. Without that, it becomes information with no credit –no transforming value.
Revelation 3:7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.”
2) Becoming like Jesus everyday
He identifies himself as one who is holy and true. The term “holy” signifies being set apart as unique and not to be equated with anything else. Being Holy can be described using the difference between dishes in the sink, kitchen, and dining room. The dishes in the sink are dirty. The dishes in the kitchen are common. You use that for all of your meals. But the dishes in the din have their own room and glass case because they are special. They are not integrated with the common and are certainly not integrated with the profane. Jesus speaks to the church not to put him in a room with everybody else. He is not just a good person or a prophet. He is holy and one of a kind. He stands in his class alone.
Isaiah 40:25 “God is holy So, when Jesus declares himself holy, he declares himself to be God.”
3) Jesus is the reality and holds all truth
Truth has to do with ultimate reality. Jesus is the real deal. Anything that contradicts him is a lie and cannot be trusted. Every Christian is to measure everything by truth. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Everything is to be measured by its inconsistency and compatibility with Jesus. And if it is incompatible and inconsistent with Jesus, it is wrong no matter who says it, how long you have believed it, and how well you know it. Jesus says, “I have the key of David.” The steward of the house of David had in his keeping the key of the house of David. But the steward did not do the right job, and so he was fired. Then David replaced him. The new steward was Eliakim, and he was given the key to the kingdom.
Jesus said he holds the key to the kingdom of David—the master key. Anybody who possesses a master key can get in any door. All the doors are available to him because he has a master key. When the Bible speaks of the key, it speaks of two things: access and authority. Jesus claims access to any door and authority over every door.
4) Jesus is the real authority
If you and I do not get that, we are going to think people are in charge. We’re going to think power brokers are in charge. We are going to think folk with money are in charge. They may have our key, but they do not have the master key. They may have the key to our door, but they do not have the key to every door.
Mathew 28:18 “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
All authority has been given to Jesus, not only in the sweet by and by, but in the nasty here and now. To put it in everyday language, He got the key, he is in charge and he runs the show.
Mathew 16:18-19 “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.”
Jesus says, ‘I have the master key—that is one key that can unlock every door.’ But he says, ‘I am going to give my church the keys to the kingdom.’ The key he will give to the church is plural. He has given us multiple keys to multiple doors while he possesses the master key to every door. Jesus has the “key” while we have the “keys.” When you use the right key, he will back it up with the master key. But when you use the wrong key, the master key cannot back you up because the master key can only be consistent with the keys that he has given us.
5) Get right with God and do the right thing always
If you skip God’s way to get it done, whatever it is you are trying to get done will fail. Doing things God’s way is using the right key to unlock opportunities. Do not just call on God to use his master key when you have ignored the keys he gave you. He does not want you to skip the responsibility he has given you and simply call on him because he got the master key. He wants to know if your keys are consistent with his key.
Jesus proclaims to give us keys means he intends to give us authority. He is willing to share his authority with you if you are consistent with him. Authority in the kingdom means to rule. God wants to rule not only in heaven but in history through the person of Jesus Christ. The reason why we are not seeing more of the master key is because God is not seeing more of the use of us using the right key. We go and use the world’s key to unlock heaven. The keys of the world do not fit in the locks of heavenly doors.
6) Do not try to be half way good and half way bad: Be all in with God
I was in New York at the Mariano Hotel, and I checked out a few days later. I boarded a plane to Chicago and got into the Hilton Hotel. It was freezing that day. I went up to the 35th floor, put the keys in the door, and all I could see was a red light—the door could not be opened. I was a little ticked off, and I caught the elevator down.
I went to the registration desk and said, “This key does not work.” They replied, “Because that key does not go to this Hotel.” I had forgotten to throw away the Mariano Hotel keys. So, I was using Mariano keys in a Hilton lock, and those keys did not fit. Keys do not fit when you mix up kingdoms. Many Christians mix up kingdoms and wonder why heaven’s door would not open for them. God would not use the master key if you didn’t use the keys he gave you. Your key must be consistent with his master key.
When Jesus moves, he opens and closes doors. When Jesus moves with his divine authority, nobody can shut it. When you are using God’s keys, people do not have the last say. We get all shaken up about people, ‘Oh, he got the power to let me in or to lock me out. He has the power to raise me or to put me down. She has the power to fire me or hire me.’ It does not matter who they are, where they come from, and what degrees they possess. Only Jesus has the master key, and when he opens it, no one can shut down.
We fear folk because they have a name. We fear folk because they have some money. We fear folk because they have some power. But you are related to the one who has the key of David–ultimate authority. If you have not gone into a prison for one reason or another, they have elevated pods where the guards sit. And the guards have all these keys to let folks in or to block folks out. The world wants to hold you hostage, but Jesus has the keys to every cell. He is the one who determines our freedom or enslavement. Every day, many Christians run around like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to please people in authority. Some even compromise their Christian beliefs because of fear. If you do not know who has the master key, your life will be a constant struggle and a fearful one.
7) Keep his word and do not deny his name
Revelation 3:8 “I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.”
For his key to work for you and me, we must have kept his word and not denied his name. One of the reasons many believers are not seeing God come through is because they do not keep his word. They come to church and hear it, but they do not keep his word, and or they deny his name. They do not want to be publicly associated with him. Some even compromise their Christian beliefs because of fear. If you do not know who has the master key, your life will be a constant struggle and a fearful one.
You might not have a big social name, be well-educated, or have a high seat in the church. But so long as you keep his word, Jesus says he has sat before you an open door that no one can shut. The reason why God opens the door for your life, career, and ministry is because you have obeyed his word and have not denied his name. We have Christians who want God to open doors for them while they disobey him. We have folks wanting God to open doors while they are ashamed to bear his name.
You can talk about “God” all you want. That is not his name. His name is the Lord Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, not this generic God. God has bequeathed or delegated everything to his son. It is in the name of Jesus that every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord to the glory of the Father. If people do not know your relationship with Jesus, then you have denied his name even though you may be talking about ‘God bless you’ all day long.
