Dad, Bobbi & Keys to the Kingdom

Yesterday a co-worker called in to the office.  She stated she would be late as she couldn't find her keys.   Later in the day she called back in.  She said that her husband had put her keys in a silly place thinking it would be funny.  Unfortunately he forgot where that place was.  Eventually they did find the keys and she sent him promptly to town.   I am sure the reason was because she didn't want to go to jail for murder.

This reminded me of a time my father lost his keys.  At that time my oldest daughter and I were staying with my parents temporarily.  My husband had taken a job in a nearby state and I was 7 months pregnant.  Bobbi was about 20-21 months old at that time.  Dad needed to go somewhere and couldn't find his keys.  My parents, my sister and I tore the place apart looking for the keys.  We could not find the keys anywhere.  As you can probably imagine, it is quite futile to ask a toddler if they know where grandpa's keys are at.  I think we'd pretty much given up hope of finding them.  I do not know why my father thought of doing it, but he decided to look in the trash.  He found his keys.  I hadn't thought of that for many years, but that fond memory was brought back courtesy of my co-worker's husband.
So what are the keys to the kingdom?  Generally, this phrase refers to Matthew 16:19. "King James 2000 Bible (©2003)
And I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be what has been bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be what has been loosed in heaven."
God is a good God and a good Father.  All gifts come from Him.  He cares about us and gives us the tools we need for this life.  This gives the believer great authority.  With great authority comes greater responsibility.  Responsibility in a crude form actually means response to God.  How we respond to God determines the amount of authority we have and we can walk in.  It also sets a precident.  We can bind whatever is already bound in heaven.  Ditto for loosing.  This doesn't mean we can loose wickedness as wickedness is not loosed in heaven.  Also Jesus stated He only did what He saw the Father do.  What we as a believer loose or bind must be in the will of the Father.
I believe that it is time that the body of Christ rise up and take up that authority.  We will be judged for our apathy.  It is time to move.  Armies move.  Living things move and grow.  The church has grown stagnant.  A fresh wind of the Spirit is blowing.  The harvest is here.  It's time to go out into the world and preach the gospel.