Take out your keychain right now and see what is on it. That keychain will say something of the areas of responsibility you have in life.
You probably have a key to where you live, where you work, vehicles you own or have access to, maybe a bike lock, or possibly a key to a storage unit. All of these keys represent things that you have access to at a level that others do not. With this access comes increased opportunities AND increased responsibility. It is actually an interesting exercise from time to time to look at your keys and see some of what the Lord is asking you to steward.
We hold our keys as things of great value. We don’t want to lose them, and certainly don’t want them to fall into the “wrong hands.” If someone is up to no good AND they have your keys, they could inflict a lot of damage.
Now, I want us to think for a moment about Jesus Christ. Did you know that He has a few keys on His keychain? They show us a lot about Him … His opportunities and His responsibilities. In Revelation 1:18, Jesus shows us that He has the keys to “Death and Hades.” This means that He holds power over death, and He controls access to our destinations after we die (Hades was the “place of the dead” in first century vernacular.) By showing us that He has the keys to death and Hades, Jesus was saying, death cannot lock me up, and it cannot lock up anyone who believes in Me. Jesus was saying that He alone holds the key to unlock an eternity in paradise, and He would open the door to heaven for all who trusted in Him.
In Revelation 3:7, Jesus shows us that He has more than just the keys to death and Hades on His keychain, He also has the “Key of David.” This is a reference to having access to the full treasury of the King. Jesus is able to bless His followers with all the spiritual blessings in the Heavenly Places, and ultimately to provide us with His riches in eternity.
By showing us His keychain, Jesus was showing us what He has responsibility over. Though we don’t have these keys ourselves, we can rest easy. Access to these blessings is far better off in the hands of the One who is Holy and True (Revelation 3:7). Jesus is never up to no good. He is always acting rightly and truthfully. We can trust Him to take care of us in death, the afterlife, and by giving us access to whatever else we might need.
This Sunday at Wildwood, we will look at the Jesus who holds these keys in order to inspire in us more and more faith and trust in Him. We will do this by looking at the letter Jesus wrote to the church in Philadelphia as recorded in Revelation 3:7-13 in part 8 of our “Lord of the Church” series. Hope to see you in our 8:30, 9:45, or 11:00 worship service, or online in the stream. Hope to see you there!
P.S. This passage also has a lot to say about a truly unbelievable promise of where the church will be during the period of time when God judges the earth. You don’t want to miss this great truth! It is SO ENCOURAGING.