Keys and a Red Wagon
Hi Friends,
I hope you are enjoying the summer days, for the summer seems to be passing so quickly. Before we know it it will be fall and a new season will begin. This week, we were visiting with family in Ohio, but it is always good to return home.
I have a vision to share with you today
The Keys and a Wagon
In this vision I saw a set of keys stuck under one of the wheels of a collapsible wagon filled with “stuff.” Because the keys were under the wheel, the fully loaded wagon had to be moved first to access the keys.
Keys can represent many things. They represent the idea of freedom: having keys to the car allows us to go where we want to go, to travel, and to experience new places. Of course it is the car that gets us from point A to point B, but without the keys, we go nowhere.
Keys are necessary, to give access or entry to something or some place that others are unable to access. Keys can also represent authority, like the key to the office, or the company warehouse. And there are also keys to spiritual authority, which I believe is the primary reason for the vision.
The Wagon
A wagon can represent many things too, just like the keys. Its wheels make carrying loads and burdens much easier than lifting or dragging. They are highly practical, able to carry groceries, supplies, and tools, back and forth, from one place to another.
We are like a wagon, but the burdens we carry are not necessarily the burdens that the Lord would have us carry. Everyday we carry burdens, obligations and concerns which can weigh us down and overtake our minds with worry. Not every thought is productive or useful. Unknowingly, we can operate out of lies and misconceptions. We can become anxious with fear of not meeting an expectation, or deadline. Our anxious thoughts can even cause emotional or physical harm.
Jesus spoke of worrry and anxiety in his Sermon on the Mount. It is really a matter of whether or not we trust God.
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own. Luke 12:22-31
The Lord is always the answer to every problem. He told his followers:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
Doesn’t that sound incredibly wonderful? Finding rest for our souls? Very often, we can take on responsibilities and see things as obligations that are not truly necessary and are not aligned with what the Lord values. As believers we may carry burdens that were never ours to bear. We may have good intentions, or so we think. But aren’t we really giving priority to our values over God’s? Jesus spoke to a woman named Martha about such matters in this next passage.
As they traveled along, Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to His message. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations to be made. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord replied, “you are worried and upset about many things. But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42
Martha was concerned for how others might judge her home and her hospitality. She had expectations of her own that caused her to find fault with Mary. Martha was operating out of her own sense of what was important, but she was the one who was missing out. Jesus valued Mary’s interest in God and in his kingdom, for they have eternal value. On the other hand Martha’s interests were only temporal. Our ways are not always right.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9
If we have become over burdened, and weary, it is time to put God first and get his direction. He will help us to prioritize what is truly important, and help us to let go of those things that are detrimental to our walk with him. The Lord asked me to give up several commitments and obligations, to put him first, and to devote more time to my family. I can say that I have never regretted making those decisions.
Our Enemy
As believers we have a common enemy: the devil and his demons. Their primary goal is to throw us off track with God, by distractions, temptations and lies. They try to set up strongholds in our minds from which they establish their presence and influence in our thoughts.
The devil knows what plugs us in, what gets us upset or distracted. He knows what will elicit a negative response so that we lose our patience, joy and peace.
The natural man, without the Spirit of God, does not have the desire to please God, but lives to please himself. Yet God gives us all free will. We have the choice to indulge the sinful nature and its desires or to submit to the leading of the Spirit and please God.
Throughout the New Testament, we learn of the tactics and plans of the devil and his demons. By understanding his schemes, we learn to act with authority and not fear.
He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44
Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. 1 Peter 5:8-9
The Lord sent out his disciples, two by two, and were given instructions to heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out demons. They returned in victory.
The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.”
So He told them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:17-20
The word of God is one of the weapons the Lord gives us to combat wrong thinking. We are told to take every thought captive.
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5
In the letter to the Philippians, Paul instructs believers to focus their thoughts on what is pure rather than what is negative and unhealthy.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things.
Philippians 4:6-8
If we trust in God for the things we need, and if we take captive our thoughts and focus on the Lord and his will for us, we will overcome our anxieties and fears and find our peace.
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3
The Lord wants us to overcome our fears, and the temptations of the flesh.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
The Lord’s desire for us, his church, is to live victoriously. In the book of Revelation addressed to the seven churches he encourages them to overcome, to stand firm and to keep the faith. These early believers faced fierce opposition, persecution and fiery trials that put their faith to the test. But they overcame!
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto death. Revelation 12:11
As we face our own troubles, our faith will also be tested. The Lord will equip us with what we need to overcome and be victorious:
“I will build my church and the gates of hell will not overcome it.” Matthew 16:18
Jesus gave his disciples “the keys to the kingdom” to equip them with authority and power to bind the forces of darkness and to loose those who were oppressed by them.
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 16:19
And because we are his, we can speak the name of Jesus, which carries authority over all things.
Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11
We see that Jesus expected his disciples to use his authority for they stood by him through all his trials.
You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Luke 22:28-30
And when we become his disciples, we understand and know that the Lord wants us to also move in the power of God.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. John 14:12
We can do the greater works, through the authority the Lord gives us, for we have the Spirit of God living in us. With the Holy Spirit we receive words of knowledge, and the various gifts of the Spirit to build up the church and to show the glory of God to those who have never known the Lord as Savior, healer and friend.
Paul encouraged the Ephesians in his letter describing the spiritual weapons that the Lord gives us through faith in him.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:10-18
Jesus instructs us to first bind the strong man before you attempt to cast it out.
But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house. Mark 3:27
James tells us to resist the devil, and he will flee:
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7
Notice that James prefaced his statement with submit yourself to God, for without our submission, we will have no spiritual authority.
In this next passage, Jesus spoke to a centurion and was greatly pleased to see his faith was based on his understanding of submission and authority. His faith was validated by the miracle that Jesus performed for his servant, which also brought honor and glory to God
When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came and pleaded with Him, “Lord, my servant lies at home, paralyzed and in terrible agony.”
“I will go and heal him,” Jesus replied.
The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell one to go, and he goes, and another to come, and he comes. I tell my servant to do something, and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those following Him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! As you have believed, so will it be done for you.” And his servant was healed at that very hour. Matthew 8:5-13
The centurian saw that Jesus moved in the supernatural power of God because he was submitted to God. And that is indeed true. If we want to move in the power of God we must be submitted to him.
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6
It is also true that to operate in the Lord’s authority, we cannot simply use his name. If we do not know him, we will carry no authority. The seven sons of Sceva tried invoking the Lord’s name, without knowing him or submitting to him.
And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.
Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily. Acts 19:11-20
And equally important to moving in the power of the Holy Spirit, is the necessity to deal with our own sin. If there is a stronghold in our own minds because of unconfessed sin, we have to repent and get right with God.
Let us walk in the light and expose the deeds of darkness. If you or another need deliverance, then by all means seek out a God fearing man or woman who walks in the authority of God, who can cast it out. Seek the Lord and he will fill you with his Holy Spirit.
And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us. 1 John 1:5-10
So let us unload ourselves of all the negative thoughts, attitudes, behaviors, and confess our sin. When we repent, which means to change our minds, the Lord cleanses us from all unrighteousness. He puts us in right standing with the Father.
Thanks for reading and I truly hope and pray that you will seek God and live in the fullness of His Spirit! Be blessed!
