Memorise:
The law and the prophets were until John: since that time
the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. Luke 16:16.
Read : Matthew 11:11-12.
11 Verily I say unto
you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater
than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom
of heaven is greater than he.
12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
Message
Gentleness and meekness are fruit of the Spirit which must be found in
children of God. However, some children of God have misunderstood
gentleness as demanded by scripture to mean tolerating everything,
including the enemies that they should get tough with. The Bible says
that right from the time John the Baptist appeared to preach the kingdom
of God, obtaining the kingdom of God has required violence. This is so
because, just as God has made provision for us in Christ to enter into
the kingdom, there is an opposing kingdom of darkness that want to do
everything it can to prevent us from accessing the kingdom of God and
its benefits. Hence, you have to be violent with the enemy. You are not
meant to go softly with Satan and his emissaries, no! The scripture
gives us a clearer picture of this in Luke 16:16, which says : “The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.”
Pressing into a place implies using force, the force of God. This
implies going violent against every opposition. This is why you must be
strong in the Lord ( Ephesians 6:10-13 ) so that the enemy would not
gain the upper hand and press you out of God’s good plan and provision
for your life.
Satan, demons and all that they stand for must be
treated violently. Satan is to be resisted ( James 4:7) and demons
must be cast out (Mark 16:17). Hence, all their manifestations in
the form of bondages, sicknesses, diseases, sorrows, death etc, are to
be stopped. Besides, we are not to take it lightly with the flesh at
all, the flesh is an ally of the devil and it does not want to please
God but itself. Therefore, no pampering of the flesh; we are to deny the
flesh its cravings and indulgences. Can you see why you must be strong
in your spirit man so that you can subject the flesh to the will of
God? What about the world system of evil? We must not allow it to draw
us into its embrace. A child of God must know when and how to bluntly
say No to an invitation to sin irrespective of who is involved, even
without blinking an eye, like the three Hebrew boys before that great
king, Nebuchadnezzar ( Daniel 3:16-17).
PRAYER POINT:
Father, help me never to tolerate nonsense from the devil and his
cohorts, but to always deal with them as you commanded in Jesus’ Name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : 2 CHRONICLES 1:1-5:1 AND PROVERBS 30:18-33.
AUTHOR : Pastor E. A ADEBOYE
Comments
Post a Comment