Christians getting violent!

If you want to be all God wants you to be- you need to expect opposition.

We are not called to easy things as Christians- we are called to hard things. He never gives us more than we can handle

Matthew 11:12 (NKJV)

¹² And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence [taken by storm], and the violent take it by force.

 

Matthew 11:12 (NLT)

¹² And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it.

 

Luke 16:16 (NKJV)

¹⁶ “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.

We are like fish swimming in a river against the current-going up stream. All the other fish are going with the current and are swimming down stream. Not only are we swimming up stream, but  we are swimming against the other fish that are going the opposite way. It makes it twice as hard to swim. If we stop swimming and pressing against the current or the flow of everyone else, we automatically start going backwards....the current takes us with it naturally.

It is also a lot like climbing a mountain, if we fall and skin our knee, we do not retreat but we get up dust ourselves off and continue climbing. We do not turn around and go back down the mountain, we press to the top!

 

(press with a holy violence into the kingdom of God.” Note, Those that would go to heaven must take pains, must strive against the stream, must press against the crowd that are going the contrary way-Matthew Henry commentary)

The word "Press" is a verb ( it is an action word) (Greek biazō) = to use force, apply force, to inflict "violence" on,

1) to use force, to apply force

                        2) to force, inflict violence on

Opposite- of doing nothing, not do anything, ignoring issues or to quit

It occurs twice in the new testament (the two scriptures that are listed above)

• to press against the current the Holy Spirit is the one that gives us strength. It is not in our strength, it is in Gods strength

• our opposition is not against people, sometimes it comes through people but they are not the battle

Everybody has to press through something…

IN OTHER COUNTRIES…THEY ARE IMPRISONED, KILLED AND TORTURED FOR THEIR FAITH

HERE …We want it to easy…we are the microwave generation

We press against:

 Rejection

Abandonment

Offense

Self-pity

Vengeance

Jealousy

Sickness

Pain of feelings

Betrayal

UN-forgiveness

Trials

Disappoints

We gain strength through fellow-shipping with God, talking to Him and learning His word. If we are not in contact with Him, we are not being strengthened and that is when we are pressing in our own strength (John 15:4)

Not only should we be in fellowship and communication with God but we must be obedient to Him.

James 1:22
But be doers of the word, and not hearers [readers] only, deceiving yourselves.

We need to press and fight against the current with zeal and passion. Not apathetically, with a lack of concern or interest, or by being lazy.

*Just like when we go to the gym to get physically fit, to get fit, or to get muscles.…we press the dumbbells, we push ourselves forward, we make ourselves keep running on the treadmill

IT IS NOT A PASSIVE THING.... IT IS AGGRESSIVE, and ACTIVE.....IT IS VIOLENT!

Matthew 5:28-30 (NKJV)

²⁸ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

This verse is not telling you to actually cut your hand off and pluck your eye out, it is telling you pto do what ever it takes to not sin. It is telling you to be violent with your sin!

Examples: if you have a problem with porno on the computer

a good way to be violent is to get rid of computer, get a filter, have an accountability partner to reveiw your history, ect...

alcoholics: stay away from bars

gossip: stay away from people that gossip, avoid phone conversations

anger: you pull yourself away when you feel like it is boiling and you calm down

***everyone will have to do something different, we all have different struggles***

You need to get violent with your circumstances…do not be passive

When you are doing yard work and you are trimming bushes, you need to use all your strength to saw a branch off, it is the same thing with your sin, it will take a lot of effort, strength and patience.

When I want to lose weight, I get violent with myself, I press in at the gym, and do not eat junk food...when I mess up, I start over. I do not just throw my hands in the air and give up. 

Focus on the Goal

Philippians 3:12-16

¹² Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. ¹³ Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, ¹⁴ I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
¹⁵ Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. ¹⁶ Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.