Things to Start and Stop During a Crisis

 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”  - Matthew 16:18-19

God has given us, the Church keys to use.

Something struck me as I was reading this morning in Matthew 16:18-19.  What struck me was that God has given us, the Church keys to use.

So what does this mean for us right now in the midst of this Coronavirus pandemic? What are the keys that God has given us that we can use today as a Church? The keys mentioned are symbolic of the authority that God has given His Church. The keys Jesus gave were to be used to bind (stop) those things that are already bound up in Heaven and to loose (start) those things which are already loosed in Heaven.

In this passage, Jesus tells His disciples that Peter’s confession of Him being the Anointed One, the Christ was revealed to Peter by our Father in Heaven. With that confession, Jesus says that He would build His Church. He would build His church on a solid foundation in which not even the gates of Hell, or death would be able to penetrate. Along with this solid foundation, Jesus gave us “keys” to the Kingdom of Heaven. 

There are 3 Things We Can Start & Stop.

There are 3 Things We Can Stop and 3 Things we can Start. We can use our keys to STOP:

1. Our fear. Fear has torment and God has not given us as believers a spirit of fear. 1 John 4:18; 2 Timothy 1:7
2. Our doubt. We cannot doubt that God is sovereign in all of this.  During times like this, we have to guard ourselves against being double-minded in our faith by what we see and hear. That my friends would make us unstable. James 1:6-7
3. Our anger. Right now statistics are showing that domestic violence has increased as a result of this pandemic. Anger doesn’t resolve anything and easily gives place to the enemy of our souls. James 1:20; Ephesians 4:26-27.
   
   We can use our keys to START:

1. Our COURAGE.  God is with us in this battle. We can be strong and courageous knowing that God will never leave us nor forsake us. Joshua 1:5-7
2. Our FAITH. This is an opportunity to trust God like never before.  This is an opportunity to increase our faith, by reading His Word. Romans 10:17
3. Our LOVE. God is love and has given us the spirit of Love, power and a sound mind. The Lord has called us by His name. We are His people. We should be the first ones to show the Love of God to others, be it our neighbors or a stranger. 2 Timothy 1:7; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Mark 12:31

Be Encouraged!
Stephanie