Now in Matthew 16 and verse 19, Jesus made a key announcement to Peter when he said to him, 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. Now, this announcement is subsequent to verses 13 through 18 in this same chapter, 16, where Jesus asked the disciples two key questions. The first question he asked is, what do others say I am? Can we get that ring out of the system? All right. Okay, don't want anything to distract us, do we? There you go. All right, so he asked, who do others say I am? Did not Jesus know what others were saying about him and what they were calling him? Well, he's not showing his ignorance. He's showing that yeah, I do. And he did know what others were saying about him. The fact is that he used this first question to prepare the disciples for the question of all questions. And what question was that? Well, it's the second question. And it was, whom do you say I am? Who do you say that I am? All right? So this question was designed to determine the disciples' understanding of who Jesus was. Now, it was a more penetrating, deeper question than what he had asked in the first question. The second question, we might ask, is it a lesser important than the first question? Or is it of more importance, the first question? And the answer to that is, it is of more importance than that first question, and why? Because it's personal. What do you think about me? Who do you say that I am? Also, it is life's ultimate question, determining where we will spend eternity. It was designed to determine what we are, but more specifically, what we will do with what the Lord has given us. So it's the doing that this questions more specifically focus on and what the Lord will give you. What are you going to do with it? All right. Now, according to verse 16, of the disciples, who responds without hesitation upon hearing the Savior's two questions? Who responds first? Well, it's Peter. As always, he was the first disciple to speak. And so he answered the second question well when he said, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God in verse 16 here in this chapter. No sooner had he uttered the great confession, however, than he moved on to the great collapse when he presumptuously took Jesus aside and he chided him for talking about his suffering and his death. To which Jesus turned to Peter and you know what he said? He said, get thee behind me, Satan. Remember that? Now Peter was a man of good intentions, but ever so often he'd put his mind in neutral and his mouth in high gear. You know anybody like that? As well as saying the right things at the right time, he was good at saying the wrong things at the wrong time. How many of you have ever have heard, and perhaps you have said, me and my big mouth Now that statement suggests that a person has spoken without thinking and that does happen. Or been talking instead of listening. And some people do more talking than they do listening. But you know, the Lord has given us two ears, but one mouth. So we ought to listen twice as much as we talk, right? Or it may make a commitment that sometimes that they could not actually keep. So could not or would not keep. Sometimes, you know, we are like Peter. And we let our mouths overload us to the point that we say things that come back to haunt us. And you can follow Peter now in Matthew, and that's the case with him. Many of us suffer from the same diseases he suffered from, and that is foot-in-mouth disease. It has been said that the only time Peter ever opened his mouth was to change feet. Mm-hmm. Well, I want to say this. When we think about Peter and think about what the Lord had on his hand with him, it took a lot of grace and forgiveness for Jesus to trust Peter with the keys of the kingdom. The truth is that Jesus does not look at us as other people do. He sees not only what we are, but he also sees us what we can become. Jesus alone, you see, has the perception to see our possibilities. And so he looked at Peter and saw him and the possibilities of his life of becoming the man that he could trust with the keys of the kingdom. So he gave Peter a new name, which would be a constant reminder of what the Lord expected him to become. Now you and I have a name that should be a constant reminder of the trust that Jesus has placed in us as keepers of the keys. The question is, Can the Lord trust us with the keys? Now, it took a lot of grace and forgiveness for Jesus to trust Peter with the keys, but I want to ask you, does it take any less for him to trust you and me with the keys? I think not, and sometimes it takes more, perhaps. No, it takes plenty of grace and forgiveness for the Lord to trust us with the keys of the kingdom. Now, did Jesus give the keys solely to Peter? What he gave to Peter, he also gave to the other disciples as well. We know that because of what Matthew 18, 18 tells us. It says, I tell you, and the you there is plural. Whereas in chapter 16, verse 19, it is a singular verb referring to Peter only. But in 18, 18, the pronoun you is plural referring to more than just Peter. It referred to all the disciples. Therefore, Jesus' message to them is the same as it was to Peter. If you look at verse 18, in chapter 18, it says, I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. It's the same wording. Mm-hmm. But you say now, Preacher, it doesn't say anything about the gift of the keys. Well, let me just say this. The reason it doesn't is because it is understood that disciples are the keepers of the keys as well as Peter. Get it? If Peter and the disciples were given keys to the kingdom, have we been given the keys as well? Have you been given the keys? Have I been? Well, let me say this, when you and I were saved, the keys to the kingdom were committed to us as stewards of the gospel of Jesus Christ and as witnesses of him. As keepers of the keys, not only is it our privilege to hold the keys, But it is also our responsibility to use the keys that we hold, the Lord has given to us. Now, some things in life are too important not to be used. It's important for us to understand that it is our responsibility to use the keys as fishers of men. In Matthew 4.19, Jesus said, follow me, for I will make you what? Fishers of men, sure. Now someone has said, now for several years in our churches, we have become keepers of the aquarium rather than fishers of men. A lot of truth to that. When Jesus gave us the keys to the kingdom, He gave them for us to use in casting the net of the gospel as fishers of men and not as keepers of the aquarium. He did not say, follow me and I will make you keepers of the aquarium, did he? What did he say? I'll make you fishers of men, yeah. Now, let us focus on identifying the keys here. What does Jesus mean by keys? Well, the keys are the gospel. The gospel is defined as the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The gospel is all about Jesus and his power to save the least, the last, and the lost. In the day of our Lord, keys were a sign of authority given a trusted steward by his master to keep the keys in his possession so that he could open doors for those who could otherwise not enter unless they had the keys. So the steward had the keys and he could open the door for them. Now upon the authority of Jesus Christ, you and I are stewards of God's household. And we're given the keys called the gospel to be used for the purpose of what? Opening the doors of salvation so that people who are lost can be saved and that they will not be shut out of heaven due to their lostness. Without the gospel, they will be shut out. They need the gospel. Now, never think that someone's lostness is none of your business. Never think that. Many of us keep the gospel to ourselves because we feel that way And we feel that we have no right to bring up the subject of the gospel to them. If you feel that way, you do not understand that the keys represent the authority that Jesus has given to you. Yeah. All right, the keys are a sign of authority. And upon his authority, the authority of Jesus Christ, we have every right to make it our business to share the gospel. The fact that Jesus has given us the keys of the kingdom is our best indicator that we are authorized to do so. Well, if we were not, he would not have given them to us. He's not going to give you something and tell you to use it unless he's authorized you to do so. Now, if we fail to make it our business and keep bound up within ourselves the gospel, then there is no other way for anyone to enter the gates of heaven. And the fact is that the gates will remain locked to those individuals unless we do the responsible thing that we are authorized to do. And that is to use the keys that we have in our hands, because in our hands, we have the power to change lives. The gospel. I hope you do not misunderstand what I'm saying about changing lives. I'm reminded of the little grandson who asked his grandfather if he could croak like a frog. And his grandfather said, sure, son. And then he issued a great frog-like sound, just like a frog. Well, the grandson was just delighted and he jumped up and down and shouted, oh, goody. And somebody who passed by asked him why he was getting so excited because his grandfather making a sound like a frog. And so the boy explained. He said, well, because my mama said that when grandpa croaks, we're all going to Disneyland. Now that's what you call misunderstanding. The less someone misunderstands, In no way is it being said that because we have the keys of the kingdom, we have the power to forgive sin and save the lost. I don't have that power. I have the keys to the kingdom, you do as well, but you don't have that power either. But we do have the gospel. And you know what the gospel is? It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth and who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved than the name of Jesus Christ. We have the keys of the kingdom. But you know what? Jesus Christ is the key that unlocks the door of salvation, okay? And because of our faith in him, those who know that they are heaven born also know that they are heaven bound. In the words of Jesus, what is bound on earth is bound in heaven. In other words, what takes place here also has taken place in heaven. Therefore, when a person is saved here, it is decreed in heaven that that person is saved there. All right? And the name of the newly saved person is written in heaven's Lamb's Book of Life. His name is written there never to be erased. Now I want you to take note of what Jesus said in verse 19. Whatever you lose on earth will be loosed in heaven. It is the responsibility of the keepers of the keys to keep on keeping on turning loose the gospel where you live on planet earth. Christ became a man on earth, gave his life for man's rebirth. He was born in a distant land and lived on earth for the good of man. Christ arose and to heaven he went, all my followers who repent. So tell the good news, tell the good news, tell the good news that Christ has come, tell it to, now finish that for me, everyone. You remember singing that? Telling the good news is the best way for us to turn the gospel loose. Mm-hmm. Tell the good news is turning the gospel on earth so that people will hear and those who believe the good news that they hear shall be saved and bound for the promised land. It was Samuel Stennett who wrote, I am bound for the promised land. Who will come and go with me? I am bound for the promised land. I want to ask you, are the keys to the kingdom meant for you to bless you and me with assurance of our salvation? Or are the keys a means to the end of us using so that others may have the opportunity to say, I am bound for the promised land? It's the latter, is it not? Sure it is, yeah. Now, we Baptists must plead guilty. For we are. We must plead guilty to the charge of keeping the gospel to ourselves. Are you aware of that? When will we ever wake up to the fact that if we continue to keep the gospel to ourselves, Lives will be forever unchanged, undone, unsaved, and unable to miss hell and make heaven. When will we ever wake up to that fact? It has been said that if the devil can't make us bad, he'll make us busy. Now, if we are so busy that we don't have time to use the keys that the Lord has given us for the good of others, we're just entirely too busy. May we never become so busy that we squander the gospel on ourselves, that we keep it to ourselves, or that we keep it bound up in the church house. As well, may we never think that the privilege of possessing the keys means that we have the option to keep the gospel to ourselves. Listen, there is nothing optional about what Jesus said in Matthew 16, 19. We have no choice but to make time to use the keys as Jesus intended for us to use them. No other option. Now, nothing would please the old devil more than for us to keep the gospel to ourselves. Satan's first goal is to keep us from being Christians. Now, if he fails in doing that, his next goal is to render us ineffective as Christians. Do you think Satan minds you possessing the keys to the kingdom? Do you think he really minds you possessing those keys? No. No. Well, then what does he mind? He just doesn't want you using them. All right. Yeah. Yeah. He doesn't mind you having them as long as you don't use the keys. He can rob us of the joy of seeing others saved by convincing us that nothing else matters as long as you and I can say that we're bound for the promised land. It was D.L. Moody who once said, it should be the desire of every believer to go to heaven and to take as many people as possible with him. Now what Moody said underscores the reason that Jesus gave us the keys to the kingdom. That's the reason why we are keepers of the keys. He wants us who are already in to reach out to those who are yet to be in and offer them the opportunity to get in. Yeah. In Moody's words, it should be the desire of every believer. You remember the last words of Jesus before he ascended into heaven? In Acts 1.8, he said, you shall be my witnesses. Now, here's the thing. His last words ought to be our first priority all the days of our lives. Now, how can we prove ourselves trustworthy? Well, it is when we make the last words of our Lord our first priority, then we can prove ourselves trustworthy. Now, if we ever needed to use the keys with a sense of urgency, it is now, today. No longer can we consider our nation a Christian nation, because it is fast becoming an anti-Christian nation. where sin is rationalized, Jesus is minimized, the Bible is marginalized, Christian values are demonized, and Christianity in America is one generation away from extinction. Boy, that'll make you sit up and take notice. As Vas Havner said when he was living this side of heaven, he said, the tragedy of our times is that the situation is desperate, but the saints are not. Now, if today's saints were as desperate as today's situation, they would be as busy as bees, seizing every opportunity to prove themselves trustworthy as keepers of the keys. I want to tell you, time is too short, eternity is too long, hell is too hot, and the situation is too desperate for us to keep the gospel to ourselves. And I'm speaking to me as well. Now, let's look at verse 20. That's a head-scratcher. Why would Jesus, on the one hand, give the disciples the keys and tell them to use them, but then on the other hand, he would tell them to sit on the keys and keep the gospel to themselves? Listen to what he said. After saying all of that, then he said in verse 20, then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ. Not to tell. Now why would Jesus tell them to keep the gospel to themselves? That's the question. Well, because that they had a before Calvary concept of Jesus. In their minds, they picture Jesus as a political military messiah who was sent to deliver the Jewish people from Roman dominance. After Calvary, their concept of Jesus changed, and it was on target. with who Jesus claimed to be, a spiritual Messiah, the savior of the world, seeking and saving those who were lost. Now, you know, it does matter on which side of Calvary you're standing, doesn't it? Standing this side of Calvary, No longer is the Lord saying, tell no one. But today, this side of Calvary, he trusts us to tell everyone the good news and do it without delay. So he's telling us, do it. You have the keys, you're authorized to do it, do it. No longer is he saying, don't do it. How many of you have ever have heard of a five and dime store, or 10 cent store as we used to call it. Yeah, nearly everybody in here says something about our age, does it not? Okay. Most likely, many of us grew up shopping in those five and dime places. Well, let me introduce you to a man and his wife who proved themselves truthworthy. His name is Ezra Duke and his wife, Well, they took $700 that they had saved up from farming and they bought 5 and 10 cent dolls, dolls, which he used to open his first store in Athens, Texas. And they called it the Duke and Heirs 5 and 10 cent variety store. The day before they opened the first store, they dedicated their business to the Lord, promising that they would run it for his glory. Well, in time, God blessed their efforts until one store grew into 42 stores, a chain of 42, as a result of God finding someone he could trust. In later years, Ezra Duke shared his testimony, and in it he said, all of my life, I have heard it said, trust the Lord, trust the Lord, trust the Lord. And then he said, the question is, can God trust you? And you know what? We know we can trust Him. Don't we? We know we can trust the Lord. But the question is, can he trust you and me? You see, the Lord is looking for trustworthy men and women in our Baptist churches. And can he trust us to make the last words, his last words, our first priority, rather than keep the gospel to ourselves? Can he trust you and me? who are already in to seize the opportunity to get others in? Can he trust us to be fishers of men rather than merely keepers of the aquarium? Those are some questions we've got to answer. But if he can, then the Lord has found in you and me someone that he can trust with the keys of the kingdom.