Open Heavens Devotional for Monday November 24, 2014: WHEN GENTLENESS IS MISAPPLIED

TOPIC: 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

SOURCE: OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL, VOLUME 14, 2014