Judges 15:14-20
14 And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.
15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.
16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.
17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi.
18 And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?
19 But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.
20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
The Spirit of the Lord was mightily upon Samson, it was not by his own power, but by the power of God, by the Spirit of God enabling Samson to do much more than the natural man. It is thus why we seek the power of God, that we might truly know the power that God has given to HIS Church, He has given HIS Church the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven to bind and loose things on earth.
Matthew 16:18-1918 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
The verses highlighted tell us, that the keys, though seemingly given to Peter, were given to the Church of God! Whatsoever we bound on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever we loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Matthew 18:15-1815 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
It is a good thing to forgive thy brother or sister or anything for that matter, but as the scriptures saith and as Christ saith, we speak to our brother one away and if they fail to hear, take another or two with yourself to reason with them, also to gain thy brother, but also to confirm the matter. If your brother fails to hear you and the other brethren, tell The Church, and yet another time if he fail to hear the final authority on earth, then so shall the word pass, let him be to thee as a heathen man and a publican. Sounds like a harsh thing, but if this behaviour is allowed to continue in The Church, then conflict would arise between members of The Body of Christ and the oppressor, so Christ knew, without a doubt what HE said, and even if that wasn't the case, we should heed HIS Word, for HE IS The Word. Sometimes we allow things to creep into The Church, and for the sake of making everyone welcome, the Truth in compromised... I say of a truth that GOD's TRUTH CANNOT BE COMPROMISED, just as HE is UNCHANGING, so is His Truth.
God recognises His Church as the final authority on earth before HE returns for HIS people. Look at this:
Matthew 18:18-20
18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Where two or three are gathered in the Name of The LORD Christ Jesus, touching ANYTHING, we shall ask concerning God and HIS Will, then, if we agree on it, then Christ in the midst of us will agree as long as it is for righteousness sake. PRAISE GOD for another one of His promises!
We truly need to stand on the promises of The LORD Jesus Christ, they do not fail. Believe me, use faith, use the keys.
Just remember when the apostles and disciple were in the upper chamber and they were? IN ONE ACCORD, THEY AGREED! Then the Holy Spirit descended as was promised by the LORD. Now I can see why tarrying for the baptism of the Holy Spirit is necessary in one accord, sometimes rather than one's own self.
Here's another scenario where the keys are used.
Luke 10:17-19
17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Nothing shall by any means hurt us. Remember when Paul was bitten of the viper...
Acts 28:3-63 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.4 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.5 And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.6 Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.
It was a promise that was delivered, Paul wasn't even there, when Jesus said it, but yet, Paul stood on the promises by faith and these assurances and promises weren't just for them of old time, but even for us now, God is still working and He needs workers for the harvest. Souls who have a genuine for souls and not just quantity of souls to step into church but QUALITY souls who genuinely love God and want to serve Him.
Use the keys, faith is the key that opens the doors, it is as an electronic supermarket door, it won't work if you don't step towards the door, faith is when you step if when the doors are closed, yet believe that by the grace of God, they will open, the same delivered Daniel from the King's decree in Daniel 6, (please read along), the same delivered the three Hebrew boys in Daniel 3 and so many others. Look in Hebrew 11.
Be faithful and serve God, in all things. I pray this for all that will and won't read this. God bless you all, in Jesus' Name!
