Spiritual violence is radical obedience

Today I want to share a revelation with you that God gave me at the beginning of the year. A Key to breakthrough and the way to passionately lay hold of the power of God’s kingdom as modelled for us by Jesus

We are living in unprecedented and uncertain times. There is a sense of urgency to pursue our destiny, to get off the sidelines and get in the game. No one knows what tomorrow holds … dress rehearsal is over friends! This is not a year or a time for stepping back or spectating.

At the beginning of the year, the Lord gave me the scripture in

Matthew 11:12 (ESV)

From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.

I like how the Passion translation puts it

Passionate people lay hold of the power of God’s kingdom

The footnote there says: “The kingdom of heaven is entered into by force, and violent ones take hold of it.” 

Then the Lord said something amazing to me. He said do you know what spiritual violence is? I said, ‘tell me Lord!’ He said ‘Spiritual violence is radical obedience’

Spiritual violence is radical obedience.

Let me explain …

You see in the Kingdom, we don’t fight as the world fights. We don’t engage in physical violence. We wage war in the heavenlies. And the single most forceful thing you can do in the spirit to advance further  and accelerate faster is to be radically obedient in everything God says and tells you to do.

Easter is coming up.

Radical obedience is what Jesus did when he went to the cross. It’s the greatest example of spiritual violence,  imaginable. it was the game changer. It ushered in the whole new covenant. It was such an act of violence in the spirit  that there was a physical manifestation on the earth. When Jesus died, on the cross, not only did God make a spectacle of the spiritual rulers and powers( Colossians 2:15) but there was an actual earthquake, the rocks spilt open and the leather curtain in the temple, which separated us ordinary people from the presence of God, the Holy of Holies, was split in two. It was the pivotal moment of all of History.

But Jesus death on the cross was an act of complete obedience, he said ‘no man takes my life from me, I lay it down’ ( John 10:18) We know He sweated blood  agonising over this requirement from the Father. In Gethsemane he cried out in anguish  “Father if it is possible, let this cup pass from my lips, yet not my will but yours be done” ( Matt 26:39)

And that single act of obedience to the point of death broke open the way of salvation for the entire world

In Romans 5:19  it says

through one man’s obedience the many are made righteous

And because of that obedience God exalted him and and has given his the name above every other name

Whatever you are facing today, I want to encourage you the most powerful, forceful thing you can do, is to be radically obedient to God. If you’re facing an attack… James 4:7 says ‘Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee’ Submitting to God is first. Obedience is first.

Do you need a miracle?  … as Mary said in the story of Jesus’s first recorded miracle ..… ‘whatever he says to you…do it’ 

Obedience is the catalyst for your miracle. What is God speaking to your heart about …Who knows what a single act of obedience can do to bring breakthrough in your life and for the lives of those around you.