“And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize – a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with the most ardent zeal and intense exertion].” Matt 11:12 (Amplified)
Many people struggle with the fact that the God of the Old Testaments seems remote, stern and forbidding. Yet, the same God comes across as all cuddly and approachable in the New. Nevertheless, this has nothing to do with a change in God’s character, but expresses the concept called a paradigm shift. This means that something previously viewed as fact has been superseded by a more recent fact. While the previous fact has not been turned into a lie, it nonetheless has lost its currency and has to make way for a more recent fact that can thus be applied to meet contemporary needs.
Jesus Christ’s assertion in the above passage represents a paradigm shift in how we relate with God and is an aspect of His progressive revelation to mankind. His key point was that ‘The rules have changed’. That which was the norm no longer applies because a new dispensation has begun. Consequently, trying to operate by the rules of yesterday can only lead to disqualification and defeat. In other words, Jesus Christ was enunciating the new kind of attitude we need to develop if we are to enjoy God’s full blessings here on earth in preparation for making heaven. This involves spiritual militancy – the dogged, never-say-die attitude that stops at nothing until it receives the full complement of God’s promise. While this does not necessarily mean that there were no examples of people who demonstrated this winning attitude before the time of John the Baptist, the new reality is that since his time it has now become the norm as opposed to being sporadic. So, in this age, the only way you can go far with God is by cultivating a winning mindset like it was with Jesus Christ. In this and subsequent week, I will be sharing timeless spiritual principles using biblical examples to buttress the salient point that winners don’t quit as well as the obverse that quitters don’t win.
The three overarching characteristic that bind the different stories I will be sharing are represented by the three words – Desperation, Determination and Dependency and without which we will have no story to tell. The people concerned forced God to take notice of them, temporarily suspend whatever agenda He was focused on prosecuting, and commanded His attention long enough for the King of glory to meet their needs through the forceful application of faith. Consequently, if you are to force your way to the top of God’s agenda like our subjects successfully did, then you must develop these character attributes as well as the faith with which to grab hold of God and wrest from His willing hand that which will meet your need. If however, you are bent on observing decorum and playing by the old rules of the spiritual gentleman or lady, you might miss out on what God has prepared for you, as the rule now states that only the violent – desperate, determined and dependent – those who care little for world opinion, will seize the kingdom of heaven by force. Resolve today to be one of them.
Prayer:
Father, I resolve today to join the ranks of those who are desperate enough to see your power, determined enough to press into you and dependent on you enough to solely rely on your grace. I shall never remain the same in Jesus name. Amen.