Matthew 11:12 (NKJV): And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.
In New International Version, Matthew 11:12 puts it this way: From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.
Recently, the Lord spoke to me, "Tell the people to 'praise vehemently'!" Yes, 'praise vehemently'! That's how you become 'violent' in the spiritual realm! That's how you are 'forcefully advancing'! Your vehement praises overcome every obstacle! Now, I'm not telling you to be violent in the flesh. We are not fighting flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12). So, how do you become 'violent' in the spirit? Or in other words, how do you 'forcefully advance' in the spirit? The answer is in your praises! To praise Him is to declare His name into the spiritual realm. Praise the Lord! He is your everything! He is your El Elyon (The Most High God), He is your El Shaddai (God Almighty, God all-sufficient), He is your YHWH Nissi (The Lord your banner), He is your YHWH Rapha (The Lord that heals), He is your YHWH Jireh (The Lord provides), and the list goes on!
To praise Him is therefore to proclaim His name, His power, His redemption, and His blessings into every situation of yours! By praising Him, you are actually 'bringing Him down to your atmosphere', and as He is enthroned in your praises (Psalm 22:3), you are allowing Him to become King over your every situation (instead of you trying to be 'in charge' over your current situation). By praising Him, you also can't help but to give thanks, because you are declaring how great and how good He is to you!
Note: Of course, your praises begin from your heart, not just an outward show.
People of God, we are living in violent times. No one can deny this. Our health gets 'violated'. Our providence gets 'violated'. At other times, even our inheritance in Him gets 'violated'! This is none other but the work of the 'enemy'. He tries hard to 'violate' you, i.e. to steal, kill, and destroy all the good things God has given you (or meant for you). Some of you may even have reached the boiling point of saying, "Enough is enough of me (or family) getting violated!"
But praise God! God has His 'antidote' for you! Your 'antidote' against the works of the 'enemy' is praise (& keep praising Him), and yes, violently! Let's 'take the bull by the horns'! Psalm 149:6 says, 'Let the high praises ('tehillah') of God be in your mouth, and a two-edged sword (symbolizing the 'Word of God') in your hand'. You destroy the enemy's works (& plans) by your praises and the Word being proclaimed (& released)!
The Oxford Dictionary says 'to be vehement' means 'being passionate, violent, forceful, showing (or caused by) strong feeling, having intense emotion, or great intensity'. That's what your praises should be! Praise and keep praising! It's like keep knocking the door! It's like using the hammer to hit (& keep hitting) the wall, and finally the wall crumbles! That's vehement praise! Keep praising until you see His glory and power! It means 'until you see a breakthrough right before your eyes'! That's violent praise! The Lord is calling His triumphant people for such!
By the way, the word 'violent' in Matthew 11:12 (NKJV) is 'seize, forcefulness' in Greek. So, despite or in spite of, say, whatever health condition you are facing at the moment, keep praising the Lord! You may not see a complete manifestation of your healing yet, but just keep praising! Even if in anytime you don't feel like praising, just open your mouth and praise, by faith! And shout aloud! Sing your praises out loud! Get hold of a good praise cd if you need to! Praise until the spiritual atmosphere changes! Praise until you know you are above (rise above), and not under (a circumstance)! And there, you have your victory! And that's how you praise your way to your breakthrough! Victory has already been won for you at the cross! But you need to 'enforce' it! 'To enforce' is 'to allow it to happen, or to cause it to happen'. You need to 'declare' it! You need to 'sign' your land title deed! Praise is not a self-effort thing of 'trying to earn your victory'. No! As a believer in the New Covenant, you praise because you know your victory has already been won at the cross! In other words, in the spiritual realm, your breakthrough and victory has already happened! Now, 'enforce' it! Your praises enforce your victory! Your praises declare your victory! It's like when someone gives you a gift (say, a land title), it's already given to you (and meant for you). But unless and until you 'sign' the land title deed (i.e. in agreement), you'll still not have it physically! So now, 'enforce' it! 'Sign' the deed! 'To sign the deed' here is 'to praise', and you'll just be one step away from your victory and breakthrough! Hallelujah! This is the power of praise! Glory be to God!
People of God, this is your time to advance! This is your time to walk into your full inheritance! Enough is enough of the devil's violation! Do you want to see yourself advancing from where you are now? Or do you want to see a breakthrough after being stagnant for so long? If you've done all that you've been taught, say, taken holy communion, beheld Jesus and His finished work, etc, then it's time to 'praise' now! Your praises is like your last piece of the 'jigsaw puzzle'. Your 'praises' will break down the 'wall' that has been hindering you all these while. That's when your breakthrough comes! Your 'praises' will break the 'chains' that has been stifling you all these while! That's also when your breakthrough comes! People of God, there's a clarion call to 'praise' right now!
Look now at Joshua 6:5 and Joshua 6:20. Here's an example of 'the violent takes it by force'. As Joshua led the people to 'praise vehemently', and as they gave a 'great shout' ('teruwah' in Hebrew, which means 'jubilation, shout of praise and celebration, acclamation of joy'), the wall of Jericho fell down flat, and the people of God 'utterly destroyed' all that was in the city with the edge of the sword (a 'picture' of the Word of God). See? Praises and proclaiming the Word!
In New Testament, look now at Paul and Silas in Acts 16:25-26. At midnight (a 'picture' of 'being in the darkest hour'), chained and locked in the prison, and as they prayed and sang praises unto God (see King James Version), God sent an earthquake that shook the foundations of the prison, and that's how all the prison doors were opened, and everyone's chains loosed! You see, it didn't matter to Paul and Silas even if the other prisoners get offended by their loud voices of praise in the middle of the night! They continued to praise vehemently! They did not exactly know what to expect, but they just kept praising! In other words, they kept praising unashamedly! Triumphant people, don't be ashamed of your violent praises to Him! And that's when your breakthrough comes, just as it was for Paul and Silas.
Praises lead to your 'wall' crumbling down! Praises lead to your 'chains' breaking off and your 'doors' being opened! Praises lead to 'the captives being set free'! After an intense time of 'violent praise', there'll surely be peace and rest following suit. Wow! Let me back this up in the Bible. Not long after Matthew 11:12 (i.e. 'the violent take it by force') is Matthew 11:28 (when Jesus said, "I will give you rest"). By the way, the word 'rest' here is translated as 'Sabbath'. And after that, Matthew 12 continues with Jesus being the Lord of Sabbath. Do you see it? Say, for example, upon being awaken by a terrible (or scary) nightmare in the middle of the night, what would you do? Allow the spirit of fear to envelope you? No! Begin praying in tongues and begin praising the Lord violently! And as you praise, you can't help but also release the Word of God into the spiritual realm! And that's how you'll receive your peace and rest soon after.
You see, there's a difference between 'being passive' (i.e. being laid back, even escapism) and 'being restful' in the victory that the Lord has won for you. Choose to praise! Choose God's way of victory! And that's how you'll be triumphant in Christ, every day and in every area of your life. Amen!
