Dr. Tony Evans unpacks a powerful message from Matthew 16, revealing the concept of God’s “master key” and how it unlocks doors in our lives. Discover how aligning your actions with God’s word and boldly living out your faith can open doors that no person can shut. SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/user/drtonyev… If you would like to download two encouraging, FREE full-length MP3s of Tony’s popular sermons: “The Sovereignty of God” and “How to Handle a Crisis,” you can do so by clicking on this link: https://share.hsforms.com/1atT9MJvXQN…
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Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative and author of over 100 books, booklets and Bible studies. The first African American to earn a doctorate of theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, he has been named one of the 12 Most Effective Preachers in the English-Speaking World by Baylor University. Dr. Evans holds the honor of writing and publishing the first full-Bible commentary and study Bible by an African American. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on over 1,400 radio outlets daily and in more than 130 countries. Dr. Evans’ sermons are also streamed and downloaded over 20,000,000 times annually. #tonyevans #tonyevanssermon #MasterKey
if if you’ve never seen God swing
something open it looked like it was
closed if you’ve never seen him come
through when there was no way then you
have not experienced the authority of
Christ folk may not know who you are but
you know him you confess him and nothing
will make the Lord more real to you when
he opens things up you were too
powerless to open up on your own cuz you
had little
[Applause]
power now in Matthew Matthew chapter 16
he says I’m going to build my church and
I will give my church the keys to the
kingdom watch this now Jesus says I have
the master key that’s one key that can
un lock any door but I’m going to give
to my people the church I’m going to
give them the keys plural to the kingdom
so what he’s given us is multiple keys
to multiple doors while he possesses the
master key to every door so he has th
key we have the keys how does it work
when you use the right key he’ll back it
up with the master key but when you use
the wrong key the master key can’t back
you up because the master key can only
be consistent with the keys that he’s
given us let me put it another
way if you skip God’s way to get it done
whatever it is you’re trying to get done
then don’t don’t just call on God to use
his master key when you’ve ignored the
key he gave you he does not want you to
skip the responsibility he’s given you
and simply call on him cuz he got the
master key he wants to know your keys
are consistent with his
key I will give you the keys to the
kingdom well what is that it’s Authority
I’m going to share my authority with you
when you are consistent with
me Authority Kingdom means to
rule so God Wants to Rule not only in
heaven but in history through the person
of Jesus Christ and he possesses the key
see the reason why we are not seeing
more of the master key is because God is
not seeing more of the use of us using
the right key see we go and use the
world’s
key to unlock Heaven those key don’t fit
in that
lock I I shared with you before how I
was in New York and I was at the
Marriott hotel and I checked out caught
a plane to Chicago got into the Hilton
Hotel went up 35 floors in the Dead
Winter with my luggage freezing outside
I put my key in the lock click click red
light click click red light click click
red light so I’m a little ticked off man
cuz I didn’t go on up 35 floors it’s
cold outside I catch the elevator down I
go to the Reg registration desk I say
excuse me this key doesn’t work he said
cuz that key doesn’t go to this
hotel I forgotten to throw away my
Marriott Key and was using a Marriott
Key in a Hilton lock and those kingdoms
don’t fit those keys don’t fit when you
mixing
kingdoms and what Christians do is they
mix kingdoms and wonder why heaven’s
door won’t open cuz God won’t use the
king key if you won’t use your key
your key must be consistent with his
master
key and he says when God moves when
Jesus moves
specifically he opens and closes
doors and he says when he moves with his
key that is with his Divine
Authority he says when he does
that nobody can shut
it okay
this ought to do something to your
gizard right there right there right
there let me tell you what ought to do
with your
gizard what this means
is when you’re using God’s
Keys people do not have the last say
so see that see we get All Shook Up
about people oh he got the power to let
me in or to lock me out he got the power
to raise me or to put me down he’s got
the power or she’s got the power to fire
me or hire me they got the power they
got all the power Jesus said but I got
the master key and when I open the door
I don’t care who they are where they
come from how much they have what
degrees they possess when I have the key
if I decide to open that door nobody
going to shut a door I open and if I
decide to lock them up they not going to
be able to get back in cuz I’m in charge
here I’ve got the key to the
kingdom see we fear the wrong
folk We Fear folk cuz they got a name we
fear folk cuz they got some money we
fear folk cuz they got some power but
you are related to the one who’s got the
Key of
David ultimate
Authority final say
so so he’s you know you ever been into a
prison to to for one reason or another
you know they got these pods now these
elevated pods where the the gods
sit and they they got all these keys to
let folk in or to block folks
out the world wants to hold you hostage
and Jesus says but I got the key to
every cell I got the key to every
door so it’s the one with the key me who
determines it and if if you don’t get
that and if I don’t get that we’ll run
around like chickens with our heads cut
off trying to get folk to do what folk
may or may not be willing to do when you
supposed to know the one who’s got the
master key to any door that you have to
deal with yeah we got to understand who
we dealing with here he says I possess
the keys so what’s the problem he says
in verse eight I know your Deeds
behold I have put before you an Open
Door which no one can
shut because you have little power and
have kept my word and have not denied my
name oh watch
it in order for his key to work for you
for me and for his
church he says You must have kept my
word obeyed me and not denied my name
so one of the reasons many Believers are
not seeing God come through is because
they do not keep his word they they come
to church and hear it but they do not
keep his word and or they deny his name
they don’t want to be publicly
associated with
him he says to them you have little
power that means this is a small
church that doesn’t have big
names doesn’t have no variety people
doesn’t have Highly Educated folk
doesn’t have a bunch of rich rich Saints
sitting in the sanctuary he says you
have little power you not all out in a
bag of chips people don’t know who you
are they don’t appreciate who you are
they don’t respect who you are you don’t
have what people view as substantive
significant and worth applauding but he
says I have set before you an Open Door
even though folks say you are a nothing
and a nobody I have set before you an
open door and when I open this bad boy
up for you the folk with the name with
the money and with the power will not be
able to shut
it but the way I will open the door and
the reason I will open the door for you
your life your world and your ministry
is because you have obeyed my word and
have not denied my name see we got folk
wanting to God open doors when they
while they disobey him we got folk
wanting God to open doors while they are
ashamed to bear his name notice you
can’t deny his name you can talk about
God all you want you can talk about God
this and God that that’s not his name
his name is the Lord Jesus Christ the
second person of the Trinity not this
generic God no no no yeah God is there
but God has bequeathed or delegated
everything to his son it is at the name
of Jesus every knee bow and every tongue
confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory
of the father so if folk don’t know your
relationship to Jesus you have denied
his name even though you may be talking
about God bless you all day long you
have Den not denied my
name Jesus says when you deny me on
Earth I will deny you before my father
who is in heaven when you confess me on
Earth I will confess you before my
father who is in heaven so if you are
ashamed of Jesus Christ and don’t want
to be publicly associated with him
forget open
doors you can open your own
door and that’s why we get so messed up
cuz we around here trying to get folk to
open up the door create the opportunity
make the connection give us the money
and we do doing all this to open up
doors and Jesus is sitting there with a
master
key and
and and if you’ve never seen God give
you an Open Door you see you didn’t miss
something if if you’ve never seen
God swing something open it looked like
it was
closed see if you’ve never seen him come
through when there was no way Jose if
you’ve never seen him intervene in your
circumstances then you have not
experienced the authority of
Christ to
[Music]
overrule particularly if you were of
little power you didn’t have the
wherewithal you didn’t have the contacts
you didn’t have the money you didn’t
have the education you didn’t have the
notoriety but you had
him Jesus
says folk may not know who you are but
you know him you confess him you obey
him he got a master
key and nothing will make the Lord more
real to you then he when he opens things
up you were too powerless to open up on
your own cuz you had little power little
notoriety little name
recognition
see that’s why the the greatest people
in our
congregation are not necessarily the
people with Masters and Doctorate
Degrees not necessarily the folks with
Mercedes and and benzes and and Lincoln
and what have you it’s no it’s not
necessarily the folk who who got the six
figure plus incomes nothing wrong with
any of those things in and of themselves
but but you have to need to know the
most powerful people are people of of
little power who know him and who
advertise his
name cuz they have access to a master
key now the upscale folk can do that too
but he says you of little power but you
have access to
me thank you
Lord that’s why um I would suggest for
me and for us no matter what position
you hold money you have or influence you
will keep yourself
small folk may be whispering in your ear
oh you all that and a bag of chips don’t
believe
it you better keep yourself
small in the eyes of
God Pride cometh before the fall you
better keep yourself
small don’t don’t think you all
that cuz cuz uh Pride cometh before the
fall and and and you need to understand
that uh humility is a big deal to
God that you you don’t view yourself
that way now other folk may be write you
out but but how you think about you you
better keep yourself small because Jesus
says even though you have little
power I’m going to open up a door for
you because you have obeyed me and you
have uh not denied my
name
for