February 5, 2024
By now we should have over 40 verses highlighted in our Bibles. If you missed a few click here for the full list. List of all verses
This week continuing to HIGHLIGHT the Kingdom Warfare Words!
Week Six
Kingdom verses to Highlight!
Starting Jan 1, 2024 would you join me every day in highlighting our Bibles with every Kingdom verse we can find! I personally am using the color purple for Royalty. Can you imagine having over 360 verses marked in your Bible by the end of the year?!
The kingdom of God was one of Jesus’ most talked about matters, but it’s hardly a well-grasped concept for believers today. If you asked a group of people to define it, you would probably get a variety of answers.
This week: Kingdom Warfare words
ACTION – Highlight these entire verses in your Bible.
Kingdom Warfare is different than Worldly Warfare!
12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. (Matthew 11:12)
This week six of Highlighting Kingdom Scriptures I am only posting one verse, Matthew 11:12. This is truly a stand-a-lone verse that needs special consideration. I have heard many teachings on this verse and most of them were horribly wrong. Let’s let the scripture interpret itself. I believe this will be an eye-opener and a blessing.
We see a specific time limit on this verse:
“And from the days of John the Baptist until now…” this would be from the time John the Baptist began preaching – until now in which John was in prison.
2 And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3 and said to Him (Matthew 11:2-3)
“Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”
Matthew 11:2
What an amazing question! Here we see John the Baptizer who was the “Forerunner” for Jesus preaching: “prepare yourselves for the way of The Lord…I baptize with water and repentance, Jesus will baptize with the Holy Ghost and Fire…Jesus must become greater and I must become lesser.” John locked up in prison, about ready to be executed asks one question:
ARE YOU THE REAL DEAL?
Jesus is the master of communication; let us look closely into this scene and listen to His answer in Matthew 11:4-6.
4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” (Matthew 11:2-6)
That is exactly what John needed to hear, but what does that have to do with our verse? Everything it sets the stage, the feeling of the moment, the joy of what has been taking place since John first started preaching out in the wilderness. Get your creativity to working. There was no evangelistic advance setup team to go into the wilderness six months early to prep the people for a “Special Event” coming their way. No billboards and flyers spotlighting John the preacher wearing camel’s hair and eating locust and honey by the river Jordan.
John is called by God to go, he went and the people started coming! I am sure there were many, many reasons folks showed up, but when they did it defined the very verse we are Highlighting.
In the words of Ellicott’s Commentary: “The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence – The words describe the eager rush of the crowds of Galilee and Judaea, first to the preaching of the Baptist, and then to that of Jesus. It was, as it were, a city attacked on all sides by those who were eager to take possession of it.
The violent take it by force – The “violent” are men of eager, impetuous zeal, who grasp the kingdom of heaven–i.e., its peace, and pardon, and blessedness–with as much eagerness as men would snatch and carry off as their own the spoil of a conquered city.
Can you see it now; can you feel the motion of the crowds of people who have longed for the answers to life and death press forward to this amazing Truth? This is the long awaited for Kingdom of Heaven on earth and the Good King has just arrived – King Jesus.
BRING IT HOME
So what does this verse do for us? How can we apply it to our lives today? First, let’s take a fresh look at what Jesus has done for us and in our lives. May we start taking inventory of the amazing miracles Jesus has performed in our lives and the life of our families! Secondly, let us renew our “pressing in” to the things of God and His Word. Let us refresh our love and commitment to Christ, especially in this hour just before we hear Jesus say, as with the sound of a trumpet: “Come up here”!
LET US START MARKING OUR BIBLES!
This is so important, I have written an entire book on the subject! (click the pic for information).
Thomas Spencer
TheBibleGuy.com
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Go to Week Seven
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