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The Key of David

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Isaiah 22:22 And the key of the house of David I will lay upon his shoulder; he shall open and no one shall shut, he shall shut and no one shall open. AMPC

What is this passage regarding? It is actually a Messianic promise and prophecy that was originally directed to Eliakim, who was over King Hezekiah’s household. Eliakim means “God Raises Up!” This passage goes on to say: And I will fasten him like a peg or nail in a firm place; and he will become a throne of honor and glory to his father’s house. 24 And they will hang on him the honor and the whole weight of [responsibility for] his father’s house: the offspring and issue [of the family, high and low], every small vessel, from the cups even to all the flasks and big bulging bottles.25 In that day, says the Lord of hosts, the nail or peg that was fastened into the sure place shall give way and be moved and be hewn down and fall, and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off; for the Lord has spoken it.

It doesn’t take too much revelation to realize Jesus is Eliakim, the One Whom God Raises Up, after he has been fastened like a peg or nail. He is the One who becomes a Throne of Honor and Glory for His Father’s House. And we know the rest of that story. In that day, says the Lord of hosts, the nail or peg that was fastened into the sure place shall give way and be moved and be hewn down and fall, and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off;… King Jesus became a curse for us removing from us the curse; bearing our burden away in order for us to be reconciled to God, and to become the righteousness of God. But not only was the curse removed King Jesus rose from the dead conquering death and removing from all mankind the sting of death.

What does any of this have to do with Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot? Revelation 3:7-11 And to the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the Holy One, the True One, He Who has the key of David, Who opens and no one shall shut, Who shuts and no one shall open:8 I know your [record of] works and what you are doing. See! I have set before you a door wide open which no one is able to shut; I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept My Word and guarded My message and have not renounced or denied My name.9 Take note! I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and learn and acknowledge that I have loved you.10 Because you have guarded and kept My word of patient endurance [have held fast the lesson of My patience with the expectant endurance that I give you], I also will keep you [safe] from the hour of trial (testing) which is coming on the whole world to try those who dwell upon the earth. 11 I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one may rob you and deprive you of your crown.

Jesus has opened the Door of Who He is and the Door of Heaven’s Throne to these Philadelphian believers. Why? I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept My Word and guarded My message and have not renounced or denied My name.9 Take note! I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and learn and acknowledge that I have loved you.10 Because you have guarded and kept My word of patient endurance [have held fast the lesson of My patience with the expectant endurance that I give you],…

Embedded in this message are the seeds of Truth that are meant to grow into a harvest testimony of manifested reality. Here we have other keys which unlock Heaven’s Door during this season enabling us to enter in. What are those keys? They had little power (in their weakness they had Christ’s strength). They guarded and kept Jesus’ Word through expectant endurance. They persevered through the things they had to suffer for being obedient to Jesus’ Word and Message.

The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:9 But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me! The Philidelphians had learned the secret of this revelation. They had learned to turn their weakness in to Christ’s Strength accessing the Grace of Jesus – the empowerment to do the will of the Lord (GRACE = Glorious Realities As Christ Empowers). They had learned to access the truth of 2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace (undeserved favor, spiritual strength) and recognition and knowledge and understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (the Messiah). To Him [be] glory (honor, majesty, and splendor) both now and to the day of eternity. Amen (so be it)! – Growing in the Grace of the Spirit. And it’s no coincidence that this same theme is manifested in Hebrews 4:16 Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]. No wonder the Door was open to them for they had learned to access the Throne of Grace to obtain more Grace to help them in their time of need.

During this season we are to come boldly before God Throne to obtain mercy and Grace to help in our need. We are to turn our weaknesses into Christ’s Strength and we are to grow in His Grace – in His empowerment to do His Will and Word. We are to seek Him in prayer for more Grace to ascend higher in His Presence and His Manifested Reality.

But there is one more key: Because you have guarded and kept My word of patient endurance [have held fast the lesson of My patience with the expectant endurance….The key to entering through this Door of Jesus and His Throne Room is found in keeping His Word; persevering with it and through it. The Word of God is Jesus and it truly is a mirror reflection of the true condition of our relationship with Jesus. To persevere in keeping His Word is to persevere in obeying and doing what His Word says. To obey His Word is to Love Jesus! The Door of Heaven had been thrown open to these Philadelphians because they had thrown wide the door of their hearts to Jesus and His Word. They had a heart like David who longed to be forever in the Manifested Presence of the Lord. He truly was, as the Philadelphians were – after the Heart of Jesus; to get as close to Jesus as was physically, and spiritually possible. During this holy time when God draws near to you make sure you reciprocate in drawing near to Him – with a heart and arms wide open.

Breakthrough!

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Nik Ripken, in the book The Insanity of God, records the story of perseverance in the light of dark circumstances: Dmitri was a Russian pastor leading a house church. As townspeople heard of the powerful manifestations of God taking place among the worshipers, more and more crowded into Dimitri’s home to hear about Jesus. One night, more than 150 people gathered. The authorities couldn’t let this continue, so they sent Dmitri a thousand kilometers away from his family and locked him in prison. He was the only believer among 1,500 hardened criminals. His captors tortured him to force him to renounce his faith, but Dmitri held firm. 

“For seventeen years in prison, every morning at daybreak, Dmitri would stand at attention by his bed. As was his custom, he would face the east, raise his arms in praise to God, and then he would sing a HeartSong to Jesus.” The other prisoners would laugh, curse, and jeer. “They’d bang metal cups against the iron bars in angry protest. They threw food and sometimes human waste to try to shut him up and extinguish the only true light shining in that dark place every morning at dawn” One day, Dmitri found a full sheet of paper and a pencil in the prison yard. “I rushed back to my jail cell, and I wrote every Scripture reference, every Bible verse, every story, and every song I could recall.” He posted it on a damp pipe in his cell as an offering to the Lord. His jailor saw it, beat and punished him, and threatened him with execution. As jailors dragged him from his cell and down the corridor, “the strangest thing happened. Before they reached the door leading to the courtyard—before stepping out into the place of execution—fifteen hundred hardened criminals stood at attention by their beds. They faced the east and they began to sing . . . the HeartSong that they had heard Dmitri sing to Jesus every morning for all those years.” Shocked, his jailors released their hold and backed away from him. “Who are you?” one demanded. Dimitri straightened his back and stood as tall and as proud as he could. “I am a son of the Living God, and Jesus is His name!” The guards returned him to his cell and shortly afterward, he was released and returned to his family. 

The suffering servant of God, Job, stated something similar in the dark night of his soul: Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.(Job 13:15) Dimitri, like Job, was willing to continue praising God, trusting Him, even when in the midst of severe mental, emotional, and physical suffering. Dimitri kept singing – kept believing – even in his darkest hour. We all know the rest of the story: breakthrough! In the dark night of your soul, while you are searching and groping to find Jesus in His hiddenness, don’t stop singing. Don’t stop waiting, and trusting. He’s not that far. Press on into His Presence by faith.

Vision

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Sunday many of you responded to the call to seek God to catch fire through His Spirit. As a testimony to your desire to take off your old way of walking in order to turn to see God, and catch fire from the Burning Man – Jesus, you placed your shoes on the altar, praying a prayer of dedication. Yet, responding to the call is only the first step. What’s next? You have heard the Scripture, Where there is no vision the people perish. (Prov. 29:18)

To receive the vision from the Lord for the next step in your walk you will need to constantly keep in mind 6 principles of seeking: (1) The role of faith, hope, trust and perseverance; (2) Modes and means of manifestation; (3) Power and potential of positioning; (4) Addressing the boundaries and limitations of rituals through the power of Grace; (5) Understanding the call to seek God through prayer and fasting is a call to meet with Him in the wilderness; (6) and Passing the test of the illusion of being passed by, and rejection.

Hebrews 11:1-3, 6 states: Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.…And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

To begin this new walk all of the principles of seeking have to be bound tight by faith, hope, trust, and perseverance. Romans 10:17 states that: So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. In order to see the vision you must first seek God to hear how to walk. The Greek word used for “word” in Romans 10:17 is the word “rhema.” Rhema simply means “out of the Mouth of God.” It’s His revealed and inspired words. Faith, hope, and trust will lead you to seek the words of the Lord for the vision. Perseverance will lead you to continue on in your search. Through these meditations we have been asking, How can I meet Jesus outside the camp? Through faith, hope, and trust you begin to seek Him to answer the practical ways He wants you to accomplish this.

For example in Exodus 33:7 Moses pitched his own tent – for people to seek God. Then in Exodus 34:1-3 Moses proceeded to cut two more stone tablets, readied himself, ascended the mountain, climbed alone, and presented himself before the Lord. Moses took 6 practical steps to what he sensed and heard from the Lord. What’s interesting about both passages is that it doesn’t say why Moses pitched his tent. We can infer he simply had a sense to do this, and obviously a desire to pitch his tent – far outside the camp. Secondly it states that the Lord spoke to Moses but it doesn’t say how, or where? Did Moses seek God alone in His tent and receive this word, or did Moses come to the base of Mount Sinai to ask? It doesn’t say. What it does say is that the Lord spoke to Moses, and Moses proceeded in taking the steps he believed were from the Lord.

Thus the next step from the church’s altar is not only to continue asking, Lord, how can I meet you outside the camp, but to also begin asking, What practical steps can I take to meet you there?