How violent are you willing to go to take the kingdom of heaven?

While living in the wilderness, John the Baptiste preached that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. His role was to prepare the way of the Lord and to make His path straight.

John spent his entire ministry in the wilderness preaching repentance and baptizing the people with water. He was preparing the people for the kingdom of heaven.

John was also preparing them to receive the baptism of fire with the Holy Spirit by Jesus Christ (Matthew 3:1-3).

Jesus, the one whom John was preparing the people to accept, did not consider Himself too high to be baptized by John.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.  And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”

But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.

When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:13-17)

As soon as Christ was baptized, the heavens were opened to Him, and the Spirit of God descended upon Him like a dove.

The voice from heaven confirmed that He was the Son of God and the entire kingdom of heaven was poured out on Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Since the beginning of John the Baptiste’s ministry until Christ’s ministry, the kingdom of heaven suffered violently (Matthew 4:12-17; 11:12).

John suffered hardship in the wilderness; Christ was tempted in the wilderness; John was thrown in prison then later beheaded; Christ was despised and rejected by His own people.

He was a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53). Jesus was persecuted, falsely accused and finally crucified.

The Kingdom of Heaven (Jesus Christ and His ministry) indeed suffered violently, but the grave was not the end because Christ arose triumphantly on the third day and gave us the weapons of victory.

How to access these weapons

You must be violent because the violent will take back the kingdom of heaven by force!

Bear in mind that our violence is not like Satan and the world who are brutal and vicious. Our violence means having an intense and radical spirit to enforce the kingdom of heaven on earth in our daily lives.

1. Be violent in humility for the poor in spirit will inherit the kingdom of heaven.

When you are converted and take on the characteristics of a child, you will be great in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3; 18:1-5).

     2. Be violent in righteousness (Matthew 5:10, 20; 7:21).

     3. Be violent in doing good all the time (Matthew 13:24-30).

  4. Be violent in your faith even as small as a mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32; 17:20).

  5. Be violent in the time spent in the word of God because it is your nourishment for growth (Matthew 13:33).

  6. Be violent in your love for each other because the kingdom of heaven is valuable (Matthew 13:44-45; John 13:34-35).

  7. Be violent in your forgiveness of each other (Matthew 18:21-35).

  8. Be violent in your obedience and diligence to Christ (Matthew 19:23-30).

 9. Be violent in your preparation by becoming the oil and wine (Matthew 20:1-14; 22:1-14; 25:1-13).

10. Be violent in your investment in the kingdom of heaven by developing a relationship with God (Matthew 25: 14-30; Ephesians 1:15-22).

Christ also called these weapons keys to the kingdom of heaven which He gave to us to bind principalities and powers of darkness and to loosen the infirmities, the captives and those in bondage (Matthew 16:19).

For additional weapons recap the Daily thanksgiving Devotion for the month of February.

February is the month of Godly love, but instead of featuring interpersonal relationships we focus on loving ourselves because you can’t love someone else if you do not love yourself.

Learning to love yourself is the pathway to blend the colors black and white to become beautiful shades of gray so that we can live in harmony without the bitterness of racism and discrimination.

We must, therefore, continue to sing the redemption song until all shackles of slavery are banished from our mind.

God is ready to reveal His mighty work in our midst. Therefore, He wants us to look into our hands and identify the gifts and calling that He placed there so that we can use them to benefit ourselves and for His glory.

The process of accomplishing your divine destiny and gaining freedom lies in your determination to achieve your full potential.

As you begin your journey draw strength from the lessons of the great leaders in the past and present.

Encourage yourself in the word of God, trust in the Lord and He will direct your path (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Know that you can do it, yes you can! (Obama)

Share with us your weapons of victory.