“From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” (Mt 11:12). An important part of this statement is “men” and this is what the Holy Spirit drew my attention to this morning. Many of us wonder when God will bring His kingdom down onto the earth, yet from this statement we see that we, men and women, have a very active, forceful part in establishing God’s kingdom.
Our enemy hinders us, and in Daniel 7 we read where satan was “waging war against the saints and defeating them, until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.” (Dan 7:21-22) If we find ourselves embroiled in a fierce warfare with our enemy it may seem that waiting on God is the only option we have. How do we find the balance between these two verses that instruct us to be forceful, and yet place the victory squarely upon God’s actions?
Let us begin by looking at the “kingdom within.” Jesus told His disciples that the kingdom would not come with observation because it was within them (Lk 17:21). The Holy Spirit works in every believer to establish God’s kingdom inside first, and it is that outward working of the inner kingdom of God that takes over this world, establishing God’s kingdom outwardly. Satan may hinder what we do, but he does not have authority over who we are inside. What keeps us from being destroyed by our enemy before we can do any earthly good? Jesus prayed a prayer of protection over His disciples before He left this world, asking the Father to “protect them by the power of your name – the name you gave Me – so that they may be one as we are one.”(Jn 17:11) This appears to be a bid for the unity of the Body of Christ, which indeed we pray for. However, if each believer is to be one in the manner Jesus is speaking of, each member would be one with Jesus, just as Jesus is one with the Father. And this is what protects us; our unity with Jesus, His will and His purposes for our lives. This is difficult if we do not entirely surrender our lives over to Him, yet wanting to labor for Him in His kingdom.
When the Israelites were given the Promised Land, they did not wait for God to get it ready for them before they entered. God instructed them to go into the land and take it. The wars that ensued show us that the kingdom of Israel was taken forcefully from their enemies. God worked with the Israelites side-by-side in their battles until the realization of His promise. His words had not produced an intellectual exercise in them, whereby they found lessons to believe or people to listen to. His words produced faith, and true faith produced action . . . forceful action.
At times we are inactive because it is the action on God’s part that makes our faith come alive, and without His action we actually begin to doubt. When doubt is full-blown it renders us inactive. Yet even small actions on our part will kindle the flames of faith in our hearts, and after the trial of waiting, our stewardship will be proven to be faithful and God will bring His help. Prolonged inaction tends to cause us to be dull, forgetful of God’s promises, and prone to being side-lined by worldly comforts.
I would like to encourage you today to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in your lives, setting up His kingdom all the more “within” and finding His works that will set up His kingdom around you. God bless, Helen
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