WHEN
GENTLENESS IS MISAPPLIED
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 indulgencies. 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
Proverbs 30:18-33
Farther help me not to tolerate nonsense from the devil but to always deal with them as you are commanded. Amen
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