Binding & Loosing

So take your place. Let's tune to the voice of the Holy Spirit as He whispers, "I have drawn you  to the Savior's life and grace, but now I want to shape you into His likeness   as instruments of redemption."   ~Jack Hayford~ Penetrating the Darkness

"And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:19 We talked about this passage in our Fellowship of Followers meeting this past Sunday night and I haven't been able to get it out of my mind since then. It's such a power-packed verse, but what does it mean to us? In his book Penetrating the Darkness, Pastor Jack Hayford gives us some great clues about all this binding and loosing. First of all, he writes: "The grammar is profound. A literal rendition of the verbs shall be bound and shall be loosed into English is that each 'shall already have been bound or loosed.' The verb form in each case reflects action achieved in the past that now becomes effected in the present."   Wow. That means, friends, that Jesus has already accomplished the binding and loosing through his death and resurrection on the cross . It is finished; it is accomplished. Our great privilege is to step forward under his guidance and invitation to apply it in our prayers and ministry to bring about his plans here on earth.    Pastor Hayford uses the example of knitting.   I wouldn't know because my Mom didn't knit much--or else I didn't pay attention--but apparently there's a knitting term called Binding off. It's the term used for finishing off what you are working on with a certain "binding" stitch that secures the row so the whole piece doesn't unravel.    Do you have anything unraveling in your life? Something that needs to be knitted back together? Maybe it's a marriage, or a friendship, or a wayward child. Or maybe it's an illness or a job loss that is causing your life to unravel. We can exercise binding prayer through the power of the Holy Spirit to deal with situations that are unraveling and see them restored and redeemed.     How about our nation or our church community--something or some group that is fractured or separated? I looked up the word "bind" in the dictionary and one definition reads, "to unite or hold, as by a feeling of loyalty or love." It is the heart of the Father that his church be united in heart and spirit. Our fractured nation needs uniting. Our binding prayers as people of faith will unite, will hold.  Another definition is "to fasten; to tie down." (Think of a seaman who secures the ropes to stop something from flapping or loosening in the wind.) Sometimes that flapping is us, isn't it? Or sometimes we need to bind the noise and confusion the Accuser throws at us. We can take a firm and faith-filled position at the cross of Christ, standing up strong to the incessant lies and oppression of the enemy and laying claim to peace; peace as a result of binding up and tying down.  There's so much more to say about this. Next week I will write about loosing and what that means in our prayer life. In the meantime..... Learn to knit! Greg