Press Into the Kingdom
In the game of basketball, a team uses the full court press in order to put pressure on the opposing team so they may force a turnover and retain possession of the ball. The kingdom of God is much the same way, but unfortunately, this truth is not stressed enough in many churches today. When Jesus made this proclamation (and also in Matthew 11:12-13), He was saying that before John the Baptist, God had only revealed Himself through the law and through prophets. But now the manifestation of God is preached and accessible to every man who desires to obtain it. In Matthew 11:12, the Lord likened it to a forceful seizure, and the violent take it by force. When before, the kingdom of God was given in a limited measure--by the law and prophets--now, with the work of Jesus, the kingdom is available to anyone seeking to take what is rightfully theirs. Remember the words of our Lord: Ask and it shall be given you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened. [Matthew 7:7-8] These very words illustrate that the responsibility to obtain our inheritance in the kingdom of God is placed directly upon us. The Bible says in Ephesians 3:20: Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us... Jesus has made the way through the cross and His resurrection, and God has promised through His word that He will do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think--all according to the level of power we are operating in. Our level of power is directly correlated with the level of diligence we use to obtain knowledge of Him through the Word. [2 Peter 1:2]
Most Christians want to go directly to the upper room of Acts 2 without first going to the cross. They want the easy way out--that the kingdom of God should be given to them on a silver platter--without ever making any measure of effort. Although salvation is a free gift from God through faith in Jesus Christ, the entire kingdom of God (the benefits of salvation) is accessible only to those who utilize the full court press--who diligently pursue the things of God. This is why many become so frustrated with healing, prosperity, complete deliverance and freedom from sin, and operating in the power of God. They haven't been taught how to press and like a basketball team that hasn't been taught the strategies of defense, their efforts are chaotic at best.
Take the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5:25-34, she had to "press" through a large crowd in order to receive her miracle, For she had said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be made whole. [v. 28] And also the Syrophonecian woman in Matthew 15:21-28, she continued to pursue the Lord and her demonstration of faith made the Lord proclaim, O woman, great is your faith. Be it unto you even as you will. [v. 28] What makes this woman's success so great is not only because of her diligence in pursuing Jesus and the miracle, but in that she was not entitled to receive this miracle because she was not a Jew. This is the only case where the Lord ever refused to minister to someone, but nevertheless, this woman's faith superceded even the Lord's calling. This is the law of faith in action. Both of these women received from God, not because of how holy they were, or how much they had given to the church, but because of their faith in Jesus Christ. We cannot earn any blessing from God with good works. Our inheritance of the kingdom is not because of who we are, but because of Who God is. This is grace.
Brothers and sisters, we must force our way into the blessings of God by first committing our lives to the Lord, then by renewing our minds with the Word of God (Romans 12:1-2). God, through Jesus, has already provided everything we need in order to be overcomers of the world. By depositing His Spirit inside us, we are able to tap into the same power the Lord Jesus had and use it to release the blessings from God. Too many of us are relying upon the faith of others to receive from God, but the Lord doesn't want it this way for it is the way of the old covenant. This is what the Lord was talking about when He said every man presses into it. [Luke 16:16] He has given you His Spirit, and by the Spirit, revealed the mysteries of the kingdom of God to you [1 Corinthians 2:9-10]. In order to receive the fullness of what God has given us, we must put the press on and use the Word to take hold of it.
